Massive difference in sales and rental prices of Riyadh, Jeddah

Sales and rental prices in Riyadh are two to four times that of Jeddah, according to a report.

The data collated by Cityscape Intelligence said rental prices for apartments in Riyadh and Jeddah vary immensely. For example rental prices of three-bedroom apartments in Jeddah are on an average SR24,000 (Dh23,503) per unit, while the same in Riyadh is SR52,000 per unit, a difference of 116 per cent.

Sales of the same types of three-bedroom properties in Jeddah are SR292,500 on average but in Riyadh it will cost closer to SR1.6m, a massive difference of SR1,307,500 or 447 per cent.

The data also revealed, the Saudi Arabian real estate market recorded yields of around eight per cent per annum since 2007. Moira Robertson, Project Director of Cityscape Intelligence, said: "No real estate price index like this existed in Saudi Arabia until we commissioned our own research. It was, therefore, surprising to find that the market has yielded on average eight per cent per annum clearly avoiding the boom bust that some other Gulf markets have suffered."

The new market data not only compares real estate sales and leasing prices in eighteen areas across Jeddah and Riyadh, but also office and residential asset classes, tracking prices back to 2007. The new price index includes sales and leasing prices in Saudi Arabia across fifteen areas of Riyadh and three areas in Jeddah.

"With Saudi Arabia's more liberal attitude towards inward investment, robust liquidity, low construction costs, an undersupply in the Saudi market, especially for low cost housing and more transparent regulations regarding mortgages, industry professionals can now access comparable real estate pricing intelligence with a quarterly update."

"Choosing the right location could save potential investors thousands of dollars. For example, in the case of residential property, separately we provide low-, high- and average-pricing by district for villas and studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments."

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