Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — There’s been 15 percent drop in real estate price from 2014 to 2017 is 15 percent said Abdullah Al-Batil, deputy governor of the General Authority for Statistics (GAS). The decline in the fourth quarter of 2017 if compared to the fourth quarter of 2016 is 3.2 percent.

Al-Batil was speaking at the introductory meeting about the real estate price index at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). He noted that they have based their analysis on the base year 2014 and on the data collected from the Ministry of Justice.

The GAS has set the analysis on three categories in the general index. The weight of these sector in the base year was 65 percent for the residential sector, 31 percent for the commercial sector and 4 percent for the agricultural sector.

The residential category includes plots, buildings, villas, apartments and houses. The commercial includes, plots, buildings, shops and commercial centers. While agricultural sector includes agriculture lands. The index included 13 regions in the Kingdom with focus on 18 cities that dominates 95 percent of the deals.

Al-Batil called on all government and non-government departments and individuals to use only accurate data issued by GAS, while adding, "We have contacted the government departments, and are not against them providing data but we are against issuing misleading data."

He explained that they would include some articles in the bylaw that address the responsibility of anyone issuing inaccurate, unreliable and misleading data.

The real estate price index, he said, is a statistical tool for measuring the relative change in real estate prices between two pouts in time. Al-Batil added, "Our goal is to set a methodology and increase awareness about value of statistics."

The GAS aims through this index to monitor price movements, help authorize take sound economic decisions, help specialists to come up with predictions and evaluate economic growth. — SG