Main priorities for the housing sector in Saudi Arabia

Yasser Abu Ateek, CEO of Dar Al Tamleek talks about the main priorities for the housing sector in Saudi Arabia.

He says, “We just know that there is a huge demand but we can´t confirm it. Of course the Minister of Housing lists 1.4 million or 1.3 million and that shows a big demand. There is a lot of youth coming to the market, some estimate 300,000 who need to find jobs every year, those are graduates from schools that need to find jobs and these people usually look for housing. There is one priority right now for the market and that is clarity. Right now, uncertainty is controlling the market, nobody knows in what direction we are heading. Uncertainty doesn’t help the consumer, it doesn’t help the investor and it doesn’t help people in the market. A lot of people are hesitating right now about what to do next. Projects are on hold, the circumstances don’t look good, the oil price is down, and morale is down. We are not at our best; all of these elements play a role but uncertainty is the major problem we have in the housing sector.”