Housing Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail inaugurated the “Restatex 2017” International Real Estate Exhibition, which is being held from April 23 – 26 April at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, with the participation of the real estate newspaper “Amlak” and a number of relevant entities, in addition to a group of real estate development and financing companies and firms involved in housing, real estate, and construction.
Al-Hogail emphasized that this exhibition represents an opportunity to learn about the experiences of real estate development and financing companies both locally and internationally, and to learn about the latest developments in this sector. He noted that the Ministry is committed to strengthening partnerships with qualified and competent developers and financiers, in line with the strategic objective of supporting supply, stimulating demand, and boosting the real estate supply, as well as improving the performance of the real estate sector and increasing its contribution to GDP.
He said, “Partnership with the private sector is of the utmost importance in achieving the Ministry’s goals of enabling citizens to obtain suitable housing, The ”Sakani” program, launched by the Ministry of Housing last January, includes the allocation and delivery of 280,000 housing units and financing packages across all regions as the target for the current year, 2017, a number of housing units developed in partnership with the private sector, represented by real estate developers, with units to be delivered within a maximum of three years from the date of allocation, through the off-plan sales program (Wafi), which targets 90,000 housing units this year; 43,000 housing units have already been offered through 23 prospectuses, The Ministry has also signed agreements with nearly 30 real estate developers to date and will continue to sign more agreements to ensure the supply of additional residential units across all regions.”
The exhibition features a range of accompanying events, including lectures, seminars, and workshops that examine the current state of the housing market in the Kingdom and mechanisms to support and develop it, in addition to discussing the Ministry of Housing’s plans and programs and its efforts to develop urgent housing solutions, including the activation of its partnership with the private sector—represented by real estate developers—to contribute to the supply of more housing units with diverse options, high quality, and affordable prices across all regions of the Kingdom.
The exhibition also includes: ”An Assessment of the Performance and Products of the (Wafi) Program and the Ittam Center,” ”The Real Estate Price Index,” “A Presentation and Discussion on the Housing Support Program,” and “Regulation of the Rental Sector in the Kingdom.” Meanwhile, the workshops resume today, Tuesday, with the first workshop titled: “The Importance of the Housing Sector in the National Economy—Indicators and Figures,” and the second titled: “The Positive Impact of the Real Estate Development Fund’s Transformation into a Financial Institution,” and the third titled “Landlords’ Union: Coexistence and Sustainability.” The final session is titled: “The Ministry’s Program and Vision for Partnerships with the Private Sector.”
