Specialized economic reports have predicted a decline in real estate prices amid the economic contraction, as evidenced by the sharp drop in publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) during April and early May, In its report, Jadwa Investment noted that real estate prices rose in the first quarter of 2020 by 1.2%, on a year-over-year basis, and by 0.4% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, adding that residential real estate prices rose by 2.1%, while commercial real estate prices fell by 0.5%, on a year-over-year basis.

Conversely, Jadwa revised its outlook for the Kingdom’s economy, forecasting that the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) will contract by 1.7% in 2020, noting that the revisions reflect ongoing developments in both the oil markets and the domestic economy, with oil GDP declining by 0.4% and non-oil GDP by -2.6% during the year.

Jadwa projected a contraction in non-oil private sector growth—the first in 33 years—by 3.9%, noting that non-oil private sector activity declined in the first quarter of 2020 and forecasting a significant decline in non-oil private sector growth in the second quarter due to the slowdown in economic activity resulting from precautionary measures to combat the coronavirus. “Jadwa” projected a decline in cement production and sales in the second quarter of this year, despite an increase last March, noting that the "TASI" index rose by 9.3% on a month-over-month basis in April. However, most of these gains were eroded on the first trading day of May, as investor confidence turned negative due to expectations of reduced government spending and a significant economic contraction. In fact, most global and regional indices saw significant gains in April, as a number of countries began formulating plans to revitalize their economies in the coming month or so.