The periodic report issued by Jadwa Investment showed that real estate prices rose by 0.41% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2022, and by 0.51% quarter-on-quarter. This annual and quarterly price increase is primarily attributed to the rise in residential real estate prices, which increased by 1.51% and 0.91%, respectively.
6.5 Million Umrah Pilgrims Boost Residential Real Estate
“Jadwa” added that, at the regional level, residential real estate prices in the Makkah region have seen a recovery in recent months, recording an annual increase of 1.31% during the first quarter of 2022, noting that the total number of Umrah pilgrims arriving from outside the Kingdom in 2021 as a whole was approximately 12,600. However, this number jumped to 900,000 Umrah pilgrims in the first quarter of 2022, and during Ramadan 2022, the number of Umrah pilgrims was estimated at approximately 6.5 million, compared to nearly 8 million in 2019.
She noted the announcement by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah that approximately one million pilgrims, from within and outside the Kingdom, to perform the Hajj rituals this year, a significant increase from the 10,000 and 60,000 pilgrims from within the Kingdom alone in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Increase in Housing Rents
According to the “Jadwa” report, housing rents recorded their first annual increase since 2016, noting that the Consumer Price Index (headline inflation) rose in March by 2%, on a year-over-year basis, and by 0.31% on a month-over-month basis. Within this index, prices in the “Food and Beverages” category rose by 3.1% year-over-year and by 0.41% month-over-month. Furthermore, prices in the “Housing and Fuel” category increased by 0.21% year-on-year, as the “Housing Rents” subcategory recorded its first annual increase since 2016.
Non-oil Purchasing Managers" Index declines
According to ”Jadwa,” the non-oil Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined in April to 55.7 from 56.8 in March, driven by surveys indicating concerns about inflation, adding that cement sales and production continued their downward trend, falling by 9.31% and 13.71% year-on-year, respectively, in March, despite rising on a month-over-month basis, noting that the latest available data for February indicates that non-oil exports continued to rise.
