The final statement issued by Global PropTech Summit the importance of investing in real estate technologies, strengthening the digital economy, and the trend among real estate developers to rely on advanced real estate technologies in construction and infrastructure development for real estate projects, in order to create vibrant and sustainable communities that meet the demands of the future.
This was announced during the closing ceremony of the Global PropTech Summit, which was held in the capital city of Riyadh on October 27 and 28 October 2024, organized by The General Real Estate Authority and its strategic partner, the National Housing Company (NHC), during which 50 scientific and panel sessions and 40 workshops were held, presented by more than 100 speakers from 80 countries and attended by nearly 9,000 participants, with more than 450,000 viewers tuning in via digital broadcast over the two days of the summit.
Recommendations from Real Estate and PropTech Leaders
Real estate and proptech leaders emphasized the importance of raising awareness about real estate technologies and expanding the organization of events that foster continuous communication among stakeholders, as well as developing real estate legislation or introducing new laws that align with the rapid changes in the use of real estate technology in the Saudi real estate sector, while emphasizing the importance of private-sector participation from both the real estate and technology sectors in shaping this legislation, in addition to the need to strengthen frameworks for international cooperation with international organizations specializing in real estate technology and companies, and to support alliances between companies specializing in the Saudi market and their counterparts in various countries around the world to attract and localize technologies, benefit from real estate technology, and exchange visits in cooperation with thethe Council of Saudi Chambers, and relevant government agencies; and the need to implement initiatives to attract capital for real estate technology projects and enhance the effectiveness of these investments; to drive growth in the real estate technology sector, and for the National Housing Company to continue its initiative to support and empower entrepreneurs, startups, and innovative companies to shape the future of real estate technology.
Promoting the Digital Economy
The “PropTech World Summit” also emphasized supporting economic transformation and strengthening the digital economy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to achieve the Vision 2030 goals of diversifying the economy by opening new horizons for investment in real estate technologies across various areas of the real estate sector, whether related to real estate transactions or modern construction technologies.
It urged investors to take advantage of the Kingdom’s massive digital transformation and the integrated digital infrastructure that supports any digital economy, noting that the future of real estate investment, both locally and globally, lies in the use of modern technologies that contribute to promoting sustainable development—as they enable investment and operational efficiency in green buildings, allow for more efficient use of resources, reduce the depletion of natural resources, lower energy demand, and replace conventional energy sources with renewable energy sources.
In their recommendations, real estate and proptech leaders emphasized the importance of developing the workforce and specialized professionals in the field of real estate technologies by adopting specialized educational and training programs for all practitioners in various real estate sectors, and supporting those interested in investing in specialized training with the aim of developing skills and building capacity in the real estate sector in general and in the field of real estate technologies in particular, calling on educational institutions and universities to adopt specialized studies, scientific research, and practical research chairs in the field of real estate technologies, given the significant need to develop these technologies as a dynamic field of study and a future trend in real estate development in the region, which drives the technology and research toward the development of new technologies and materials in construction and development.
The use of artificial intelligence technologies
The “Summit” called for capitalizing on the global trend toward using artificial intelligence technologies in the real estate sector, as one of the most important modern technologies that contribute significantly to rapid technical development and increase opportunities for innovation and growth in the sector, and for its direct contribution to raising quality, increasing potential, enhancing business efficiency, and improving productivity, The Summit also urged relevant authorities to establish national centers to support these technologies and create regulated testing environments under public sector oversight, while establishing flexible regulatory frameworks, in order to promote responsible innovation, and for relevant authorities responsible for national and real estate indices to adopt specialized indices for the real estate sector that contribute to raising the quality of real estate products based on real estate technologies and help establish standards related to customer service, ease of use, and thesignificantly improve beneficiaries“ quality of life, and monitor changes in this sector.
The Global PropTech Summit also commended the initiative launched by the General Real Estate Authority in collaboration with the National Housing Company to establish the Saudi PropTech Hub (SPH), which features an experimental and regulatory environment as well as a business accelerator. It urged the expansion of real estate technology accelerators and the inclusion of innovators and entrepreneurs to enhance their contribution to local content on the one hand, and to increase the real estate sector’s contribution to non-oil GDP on the other.
For its part, the General Real Estate Authority expressed its gratitude to its strategic partner, the National Housing Company, as well as to the summit’s guests and all its partners from government and private sectors, as well as supporters, sponsors, technical and real estate experts, speakers, investors, entrepreneurs, and startups for the added value they brought to the summit, its visitors, and the real estate sector as a whole. The Authority announced that the second edition of the Global PropTech Summit will be held in October of next year, 2025, God willing.
