RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s real estate market maintained its growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2025, with overall property prices climbing 4.3 percent year on year, official data showed.
According to the General Authority for Statistics, residential property prices rose 5.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, while commercial real estate prices increased by 2.5 percent. In contrast, the agricultural sector saw a 1.1 percent decline in property values during the same period.
The real estate sector plays a pivotal role in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy to diversify the economy by transforming Saudi Arabia into a regional hub for tourism, business, and living, with authorities introducing a range of policy measures in recent years to boost home ownership and enhance transparency in real estate transactions.
“Data indicates that real estate prices in the residential sector experienced varying increases in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of the previous year,” GASTAT said in its quarterly Real Estate Price Index report.
Within the residential segment, which holds a 72.7 percent weight in the index, land plot prices, the largest sub-category, increased by 5.3 percent. Villa costs jumped 10.3 percent, apartment prices gained 1.2 percent, and residential floor costs climbed 2.8 percent, the analysis showed.
The commercial sector’s 2.5 percent annual growth was primarily led by a 2.4 percent increase in land prices, while commercial building prices rose 3.1 percent and shop or gallery prices were up 5.1 percent.
Regional trends
Regarding the impact of administrative regions on the annual change, the national level recorded an increase of 4.3 percent.
“This was mainly driven by the annual price increase in Riyadh Region by 10.7 percent, followed by Makkah Region at 1.5 percent, while the Eastern Region recorded a decline of 5.5 percent,” the report said.
It added: “At the regional level, Northern Borders, Al-Jouf, and Najran recorded the highest annual increases after Riyadh, at 8.7 percent, 8.2 percent, and 5.6 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Eastern and Asir Regions recorded the highest rates of decline, at 5.5 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.”
Quarterly comparison
Compared to the final quarter of 2024, the overall real estate index was up 0.7 percent in the first quarter. Residential prices increased 1.9 percent over the period, fueled by a 3.2 percent rise in land plot costs. Apartment and residential floor prices edged up 0.2 percent each, while villa costs declined 1.4 percent.
In the commercial sector, prices declined by 2.1 percent quarter on quarter, driven by a 2.6 percent drop in commercial land plot prices.
“In contrast, building prices increased by 1.6 percent, and gallery/shop prices rose by 1.8 percent. Similarly, prices in the agricultural real estate sector declined by 3.8 percent, driven by a corresponding 3.8 percent decrease in agricultural land prices,” the report added.
