Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — House rents will continue to dip till the end of the year and may further go down later, realtors and experts feel.

Experts expect the continuation of rental housing prices by 20 percent until the end of this year to reach lower prices than the current. They mentioned that the reasons could be the fees that family members of expatriates have to pay upon arrival as tourists or the fees imposed on white land and real estate stagnation and increased ownership, Madina daily reported.

Abdullah Al-Ahmari, chairman of the Jeddah Real Estate Appraisal Committee, attributed the 20 percent drop in residential rental prices to the decision of accompanying expatriate fees, which led many to leave and thus supply increased and demand lowered which led to decrease in prices.

He added that imposing white land fees required the owners to develop and sell the lands to benefit from them, as well as the stagnation in the real estate sector and the seasonal decline, which affect prices, especially during the months of Ramadan to Haj. He stressed that these reasons can correct the prices of rents and real estate to go back to fair prices.

He confirmed that the concerned authorities intervened to control the sector through the regulations and legislation and take into account the interest of the consumer, especially those with low and middle incomes, in order to obtain suitable housing.

Real estate developer and financial consultant Omar Al-Salami said rents will continue to go down until the end of the year and might reach lower levels.

He pointed out that the real estate sector is going through an important phase that led to lower rents of housing units, which is a transformational stage for citizens as they become owners and no longer pay rent through government support provided by the Ministry of Housing, in addition to banks that provide housing products suitable for all social classes in order to provide suitable housing.