In his speech at the Third Qatar Real Estate Forum, held in the Qatari capital of Doha, Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail reviewed some of the Kingdom’s achievements in the real estate sector, as well as the steps and measures taken to bring about a qualitative leap in the sector, in addition to an overview of the Kingdom’s future vision.

Shifts in Attracting Capital

The Minister of Municipalities and Housing that the real estate sector today is undergoing a qualitative transformation in attracting capital, talent, and job opportunities, which requires the development of new models of communities and cities that place people and quality of life at their core—a principle upon which the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 is based.

Al-Hogail stated that Vision 2030 has shifted the Kingdom from managing the market to empowering it, through flexible legislation, economic integration, and a digital transformation that has increased service efficiency and speed of delivery, completely reshaping the real estate experience.

During his speech, Majed Al-Hogail highlighted the Kingdom’s mechanisms for driving a boom in the real estate market, including the establishment of the National Housing Company alongside the development of the Wafi program, with one serving as the largest executive arm for urban development, and the other serving as the regulatory arm for off-plan sales.

National Housing Company

He noted that the National Housing Company has become the main pillar for major projects in partnership with local and international developers, noting that 100 national developers are implementing massive projects to international standards, and commending the Kingdom’s efforts in building smart cities, with six Saudi cities now ranked among the world’s top 100 smart cities.

Expressing the Kingdom’s goal for the real estate sector, Minister Al-Hogail stated that the challenge they face is no longer simply providing housing, but rather ensuring the happiness of those living in the communities they build; hence, the Kingdom has set out to comprehensively develop the real estate system.

Regarding the state of real estate financing in the Kingdom, he explained that the volume of real estate financing has risen from approximately 200 billion riyals to more than 900 billion riyals by 2025, representing 27% of the total portfolios of Saudi banks.