Saudi Arabia Report

"The question is whether the residential prices are affordable. Currently with the prices as they are, there is a huge difference between property prices and people's income... Over the last 3 or 4 years, the pricing acceleration was quite aggressive so I do not think we shall see much higher prices," says Majed Al Hogail, Managing Director of Rafal Real Estate Development Co.

"When I look at the pricing appreciation of real estate in Saudi Arabia over the last fifteen to twenty years, I see we have had reasonable growth. When I look at the past five years, I see huge growth.... (However,) there is a large gap in terms of affordability. We hope the government will interfere and help find tools and vehicles to reduce this gap."