The General Real Estate Authority is working on a project to assess the current state of real estate activities under the Ministry of Housing—as it was formerly known—and to develop the best plans for transferring oversight of five of these programs as a first phase, namely the Unit Sorting Program, the Owners« Association Program, the Sustainability Program, and the »Wafi" off-plan sales program.
According to ”Al-Sharq Al-Awsat," well-informed sources stated that the project’s objectives center on conducting a detailed study of the five programs to facilitate the transfer of oversight to the Authority without compromising any of the roles of each program, as well as improving their performance during the transfer process. The General Real Estate Authority is coordinating on this project with several entities, including the Ministry’s Real Estate Development Agency, the Ministry’s Regulatory Portfolio, and the National Housing Company.
Through its programs, the Ministry works to regulate and facilitate a balanced and sustainable housing environment and seeks to create and develop programs to stimulate the private and public sectors through cooperation and partnership in regulation, planning, and oversight to facilitate housing for all segments of society atat appropriate prices and quality.
Based on the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing’s role in enabling citizens to own homes through a variety of options suitable for all segments of society, and as part of its role in enacting the necessary regulations and legislation, the Ministry has worked on a number of different projects and programs under the National Strategy, which provides an integrated regulatory plan for the sector. This has resulted in a set of outcomes aimed at serving citizens and providing adequate housing in line with the Kingdom’s Vision. The Housing Programprogram—one of the 2030 initiatives—which brings together 16 government agencies that coordinate and integrate their efforts to overcome the obstacles facing the sector.
The Saudi Cabinet recently approved the comprehensive strategy for the real estate sector, recognizing it as one of the pillars of the national economy, with a view to regulating and developing the sector, improving oversight mechanisms, enhancing its efficiency, encouraging investment, and enabling it to increase its contribution to gross domestic product.
Issam Al-Mubarak, Governor of the General Real Estate Authority, emphasized that the Cabinet’s approval of the strategy will help improve the performance of real estate entities, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, improve the quality of the tools they use and the services they provide, and expand employment opportunities for young men and women in various fields within the real estate sector.
He added that the approval of the comprehensive strategy for the real estate sector represents significant support for the economy as a whole and the real estate sector in particular, as it is a key driver of development, attracts investment, contributes significantly to GDP, and plays a role in providing job opportunities for Saudi nationals in real estate enterprises, thereby fulfilling the strategy’s vision of making the sector in the Kingdom dynamic, attractive, and characterized by trust and innovation, noting that various stakeholders will play an active role in implementing the strategy to help achieve its objectives. He explained that the strategy is built on four pillars, prioritizing 15 objectives and 18 initiatives, and linking them to 22 performance indicators.
The four pillars on which the strategy is based include real estate sector governance—which gives rise to regulations, legislation, and the issuance of bylaws and policies—the development of governance models and the establishment of effective communication plans, and the improvement of oversight mechanisms, Among these are the real estate brokerage system, the real estate registration system, the real estate contribution system, the system for the ownership, classification, and management of real estate units, the preparation of regulations for real estate auctions, and controls on online marketing and real estate advertising.
