RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Price Index rose 1.3 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2026, driven by stronger residential and agricultural property prices, which offset a decline in commercial real estate values, official data showed.
According to the General Authority for Statistics, the residential sector increased 2.6 percent, while agricultural real estate prices rose 11.3 percent and commercial prices fell 3.2 percent.
The residential rise was driven mainly by land values, with residential plot prices up 6.3 percent from a year earlier.
Apartment prices increased 1.1 percent and residential floor prices edged up 0.4 percent, while villa prices fell 9.7 percent, highlighting divergent demand across housing segments.
The increase comes as residential property markets across the Gulf continue to diverge, with the UAE showing strong but moderated growth during the first quarter of 2026, and Qatar seeing a subdued performance.
The latest Saudi GASTAT report said: “REPI witnessed an increase of 3 percent on a quarterly basis during Q2 of 2026, compared to the previous quarter.”
Quarterly gains
Residential prices rose 3.7 percent quarter on quarter, led by a 6.1 percent rise in residential land, while apartments gained 0.9 percent. Villas and residential floors declined 2.1 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
The authority said the index is based on real estate transaction data and an updated methodology designed to improve market measurement.
“To achieve this, a geospatial artificial intelligence model is utilized to process various types of real estate transactions and link them to multiple data sources and satellite imagery,” the report said.
GCC backdrop
The increase comes as residential property markets across the Gulf continue to diverge. Global real estate firm CBRE reported that across the UAE in the first quarter of 2026 sales prices rose about 9 percent year on year while rental growth slowed to 4.1 percent. Abu Dhabi continued to outperform, supported by high-value off-plan transactions.
In Qatar, the residential property price index was broadly unchanged on a quarterly basis in the first three months of the year.
Saudi Arabia’s commercial sector remained the main drag on the annual index. Commercial plot prices declined 3.5 percent and building prices fell 0.6 percent, while exhibitions and shops rose 0.4 percent.
On a quarterly basis, however, commercial prices increased 1 percent, supported by higher commercial land prices and a 3.8 percent rise in exhibitions and shops. Building prices, however, edged down 0.3 percent.
Agricultural real estate continued to post the strongest annual growth among the three main sectors, with prices up 11.3 percent year on year. The sector also rose 1.3 percent from the previous quarter, driven by higher agricultural plot prices.
Price movements varied widely across the Kingdom’s regions. Al-Jawf recorded the highest annual increase in real estate prices at 10.4 percent, followed by Northern Borders at 4.6 percent and Riyadh at 4.2 percent. Makkah posted a smaller rise of 0.4 percent.
Several regions recorded declines. Hail posted the steepest fall at 10.1 percent, followed by Qassim at 5.4 percent, Madinah at 4.5 percent and Al-Baha at 2.8 percent. The Eastern Province, Tabuk, Aseer, Najran and Jazan also recorded annual declines.
