Rising land prices in the capital, Riyadh, have led many prospective buyers to turn to older neighborhoods to purchase land for building their own homes, or to buy an old house and either renovate it or tear it down and rebuild it. According to real estate agents, land prices in the older neighborhoods remain lower than in the newer ones, ranging from 1,700 to 2,500 per meter. Real estate market professionals expect prices to remain stable for some time and may even decline.

According to media reports, the neighborhoods in highest demand—as indicated by real estate agencies—are those characterized by wide streets, comprehensive services, and proximity to major roads, in addition to the large size of the plots and old houses, as most plots are no less than 400 square meters—since some people prefer living in larger spaces, unlike the new neighborhoods, where plot sizes range from 250 to 300 square meters. An employee at a real estate investment firm noted that there is high activity in the older neighborhoods, where homes are purchased, demolished, rebuilt, and then resold—especially since the purchasing process has become easier thanks to government support for housing projects and the Real Estate Fund, according to Al-Watan.

For his part, economist Abdul Hamid Al-Omari explained that many prospective buyers and real estate companies have begun returning to older neighborhoods with comprehensive (education, healthcare) because their prices are within their reach and have not been affected by the sharp price increases seen in new neighborhoods, He added that older buildings are of much higher construction quality than newly built real estate projects, which often suffer from poor construction, and at the same time are being offered at very high prices.

Real estate expert Askar Al-Maymouni said that older construction is of higher quality than new construction; therefore, buying a 10-year-old villa is better than buying a new one that lacks a sustainability certificate or complies with the Saudi Building Code, because citizens are looking for quality construction.

Twitter users didn’t miss this topic, and many of them discussed the idea of buying an older home and renovating it. Ayub Al-Fareedi said: I bought a 12-year-old house, renovated it, and it turned out great, God willing. But I bought it from someone who built it himself, and the foundation is very solid. In my opinion, a used house that’s between 15 and 8 years old is much better than a new one for three main reasons: (Better foundation—you can renovate it to your liking, add your own touch, and make any changes you want—lower price).