Housing Projects – His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al Saud, Deputy Minister of Housing for Housing Support and Beneficiary Services, that the ongoing transition of home ownership procedures to an electronic format has greatly contributed to taking advantage of various solutions through loans subsidized by the Real Estate Development Fund in partnership with financing institutions, through streamlined electronic procedures linked to more than 25 government and private entities to obtain all necessary approvals and complete the home ownership process.

340,000 subsidized mortgage loans

During his participation in the virtual “Euromoney” conference, which began under the title “Saudi Housing Finance” under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, and in partnership with the Real Estate Development Fund, that the partnership with the private sector has resulted in the provision of more than 340,000 profit-subsidized mortgage loans to beneficiaries of “Sakani” as part of the program’s efforts to accelerate homeownership by streamlining procedures and enabling the reservation of more units through the app, thereby achieving one of the goals of Vision 2030: reaching a homeownership rate of 70% by 2030. Prince Talal noted that the quality of the sector’s digital infrastructure and ongoing efforts to develop it have helped accelerate the pace of homeownership for families and increased access to diverse housing solutions and options through the “Sakani” website and app, with immediate eligibility and within just a few minutes.

Serving more than two million beneficiaries online

He noted in his remarks that most of those eligible for housing support currently use “Sakani” digital platforms instead of visiting branches, explaining that more than two million beneficiaries have been served through electronic services, and that interactions with more than 500,000 citizens have taken place through social media channels; through this integrated system, more than 482,000 contracts have been signed, Beneficiary satisfaction reached 92% with a service quality rating of 94%; he noted that these high figures motivate the Ministry to further strengthen and improve them.

314,000 tax-stamped certificates

For his part, Marwan Zouawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Housing for Housing Products, stated that the “Sakani” app has saved citizens and housing system employees a great deal of time and effort in determining eligibility for housing support. He noted that through the real estate advisor service on the “Sakani,” a number of recommendations are provided to citizens based on their banking information and other details they submit to support mortgage loans for purchasing ready-to-move-in units or units in projects under construction—which are implemented in partnership with real estate developers and reviewed by the app— or to build on their land and assist them in obtaining advanced architectural designs through the app, as well as other services such as covering the value-added tax on the first home, which has resulted in the issuance of more than 314,000 certificates.

The "Sakani" App Helped Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19

Regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery, Zouawi noted that the launch of the "Sakani" app contributed significantly to limiting the sector’s exposure to the pandemic, noting that the app was downloaded more than one million times by users during the periods of full and partial lockdowns, and emphasizing that the program continues to add new services to facilitate homeownership.

It is worth noting that the “Euromoney” conference sessions will continue over the course of two months, having kicked off last Thursday with a meeting with His Excellency the Minister of Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, to discuss Vision 2030 and its role in enabling Saudi citizens to access housing, as well as the performance of the housing sector and the housing finance market in 2020, and the extent to which they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Housing Projects