Digital transformation... achievements the real estate industry is talking about
Khaled Al-Ali
Who would have imagined a decade ago, a third of our experience in the real estate market, that real estate emptying could be done in minutes via your mobile phone screen?
This scene sums up the magnitude of the digital transformation that the Saudi real estate sector is experiencing today, a transformation that has made technology the heart of the market rather than its periphery. The Saudi real estate sector continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, driven by digital transformation, governance and regulation. Cited by global reports such as KPMG and Knight Frank's 2024 report
Data indicates that the market is experiencing annual growth in excess of 7% supported by programs such as e-vacuum, real estate indices, real estate registry and Ejar platform, which have redefined the way real estate is rented and owned in the Kingdom.
This underscores the transformation of the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia. This confirms that the digital transformation has contributed to raising the efficiency of the market and attracting more global investors thanks to the level of transparency provided by the official platforms of the General Real Estate Authority and the Ministry of Justice.
As for the private sector, the total number of electronic real estate platforms licensed by the General Real Estate Authority reached 71 real estate platforms (as of Q1 2025) compared to less than half that number a few years ago.
This confirms that digital transformation has contributed to increasing the efficiency of the market and attracting more global investors thanks to the level of transparency provided by the official platforms of the General Real Estate Authority and Ministry of Justice. These platforms have radically changed the experience of buyers and sellers in the real estate sector and the field is still open for further development.
Despite the development efforts made by the General Authority for Real Estate, the number of real estate e-platforms licensed by the General Authority for Real Estate has reached 71 (until the first quarter of 2025) compared to less than half a few years ago. <Despite huge development efforts from the government and private sector, part of the market still relies on old procedures and traditional communication. The real challenge is no longer in the “availability of technology”, but in changing the corporate culture of some small and medium-sized real estate companies and offices. And to look at technology in the organization as facilitating work and increasing its efficiency, not as a financial burden or complexity. These are examples, not limited to those that have been proven to move the work to a high level of performance
<Such as electronic contract management, which reduced accounting errors and increased transparency, and maintenance follow-up through cloud-based programs and platforms that saved time and expenses. And the use of technology in collection, which increased the regularity of cash flows by more than 30% according to some studies, and I believe that over the next few years, we will move from the stage of “digital transformation” to the stage of “smart real estate”.
Through technologies and applications that are expected to change the rules of the market such as:
Integrated property and facility management systems that unify financial and operational processes in a single platform
Integrated property and facility management systems that unify financial and operational processes in a single platform
<Prop. & Facility Management Platforms and analytical artificial intelligence to estimate market value and future rents. Also, automation in reports and contracts to minimize human errors. Blockchain to securely document properties and contracts. I also see promising technical opportunities in the field of managing owners' associations, which has not yet taken a share of the market technologically.
<The real estate technology (PropTech) market in the Kingdom is expected to grow by 19% annually until 2030, approaching three billion riyals in market value.
It is a clear indication that the market is moving towards smart and fully automated operation.
Digital transformation in Saudi real estate is no longer a regulatory project, but a strategic trend to build a more efficient and trustworthy market.
A property manager or broker who treats technology as an administrative burden will soon discover that competitors who have adopted it have become faster, more accurate and more attractive to the client.
Technology does not exclude man, it maximizes and optimizes his potential to reach the highest levels of productivity quality
Technology does not exclude man, it maximizes and optimizes his potential to reach the highest levels of productivity quality.
@amayerproperty
Aamayer Property Management
