RIYADH: Rental expectations for office spaces in Saudi Arabia witnessed an acceleration in the third quarter of this year, according to a new survey.

The latest report released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors disclosed that 90 percent of respondents showed rental interest for workspaces in the region over the period, compared to 77 percent in the preceding three months.

According to the report, the topline overall occupier demand for commercial properties in Saudi Arabia witnessed a marginal rise to 60 percent in the third quarter compared to 59 percent in the previous quarter.

“The impact of the Kingdom’s ‘giga-projects’ continues to make their mark in the monitor results, cementing the nation’s commercial property sector as one of the world’s leading lights,” said RICS.

RICS revealed that the Kingdom continued to deliver robust Occupier Sentiment Index and Investment Sentiment Index with readings at +26 and +29, respectively, in the third quarter. The report added that Saudi Arabia’s ISI readings were the highest since the fourth quarter of 2018.

ISI readings are widely regarded as a valuable measure to gauge the overall mood of the market.

According to RICS, the metrics for Saudi Arabia’s commercial property market maintained consistently positive values during the third quarter of 2023, indicating an exceptionally strong outlook for the future.

“Divergent trends are clearly visible in global real estate according to the Q3 RICS Commercial Monitor, with markets such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and India still performing strongly and projected to continue to do so,” said Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS.

Earlier this month, a report released by global consultancy firm Knight Frank suggested that warehouse rents in Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh, rose by 20 percent in the first half of this year, primarily driven by the growth in the e-commerce sector.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics revealed that Saudi Arabia’s real estate price index rose by 0.7 percent in the third quarter of this year, fueled by an increase in residential property values.

According to GASTAT, residential building prices recorded a 1.1 percent annual increase in the third quarter, driven by a rise in the cost of land plots by 1.2 percent.