Saudi real estate market continues to rebalance, selective recovery expected in 2nd half of 2026
RIYADH: The slowdown recorded by official indicators in Saudi Arabia’s real estate market during the first half of this year did not surprise observers. Rather, it reflected the practical unfolding of a “rebalancing” phase whose signs began to emerge in 2025.
With major regulatory changes, such as parcel-based real estate registration coming into effect, investors and developers are now recalculating and watching the market carefully, ahead of a second half that experts expect to be led by real demand in residential projects and integrated logistics sectors.
Data from the Saudi Ministry of Justice’s Real Estate Market, covering property transfers, showed that the total value of real estate transactions fell in the first half of 2026 to $21.9 billion, or SR82.2 billion, compared with $45.1 billion, or SR169.4 billion, in the same period of 2025 — a 51.5 percent decline, the steepest among the indicators.
Transaction activity also slowed, with the number of deals falling to 161,900 from 220,000 a year earlier, a decline of 26.4 percent. The drop extended to the number of traded properties, which fell from 204,900 to 138,600, down 32.4 percent.
