Saudi Arabia

Although growth in Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector has softened since 2016, government-led initiatives to increase access to affordable housing, in addition to wider economic diversification plans focused on tourism and industrial output, look set to turn fortunes around. All eyes have been on the impact of the government’s white land tax on...

In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of humanity was living in urban areas. Perhaps the most remarkable observation about this trend is the speed at which it has happened: as recently as 1900 urban areas accounted for 13% of the global population. Towns and cities are seen as the crucibles of opportunity for many rural...

The government is undertaking promising reforms and investing in new developments in order to bolster the volume of affordable housing available on the market, in turn increasing the homeownership ratio among nationals from its current level of 47% to 70% by 2030, as the government seeks to meet demand and accommodate a burgeoning young...

In 2018 consolidation marked Saudi Arabia’s construction sector, following a difficult 2017 when the government shelved or paused many unfinished projects. Growth in 2018 was modest at around 4% and the value of contracts awarded was still well below the record years of 2013 and 2014. The year also saw the fall of one of the country’s largest...

The ambitious $500bn mega-city NEOM — derived from the Greek word neo (new) and the Arabic word mustaqbal (future) — project is an energiser for the construction sector and provides a promising longterm pipeline of opportunities for investors. These include Qiddiya, an $8bn entertainment complex three times the size of...