Across the Middle East, countries have pushed through new initiatives aiming to remedy affordable housing deficits. For Saudi Arabia, this has meant addressing both the supply and demand sides of the housing market, with the goal of building 300,000 new housing units by 2030, and increasing homeownership rates to 70%.
To make these goals a reality, Saudi Arabia passed a series of programs in 2018 that will increase homeownership rates. The programs will allocate $4.8 billion to provide loan guarantees to banks, along with $3.3 billion to assist homeowners in making down payments. In attempts to support the local mortgage market, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Ministry of Housing are launching a new real estate refinancing company to provide additional liquidity.
Source:
Oxford Business Group. (2020) Emerging Markets Strive to Solve Housing Deficits amid Rising Urbanisation. OBG.