Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Real estate investors are eagerly awaiting implementation of several decisions to open up investment opportunities in the Kingdom's rapidly-growing real estate sector. Abdullah Al-Ahmari, Chairman of the Real Estate Appraisal Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), was confident that the real estate sector will witness a boom during the coming few months due to decisions taken by the Ministry of Housing over the past few months. Al-Ahmari focused on the decision of the Shoura Council to treat female and male Saudi citizens equally in obtaining land and housing loans, Al-Sharq Arabic daily reported Sunday. “I demand quick implementation of this decision and I demand equal treatment of Saudi women married to foreigners in Saudi Arabia. They should be given the same treatment as Saudi women married to Saudi men get,” he said, while warning that traders of building materials will exploit the decision and unnecessarily hike prices. The Shoura Council approved a decision to treat male and female Saudi citizens equally as far as conditions for obtaining a loan are concerned. Al-Ahmari said 30 years ago, Saudi women used to get loans and their husbands would get additional loans, something which made it easier for couples to buy or build a home. “These loans used to be sufficient to build a home. The area used to range between 400 and 700 square meters and the prices ranged between SR20,000 and SR40,000. This indicates that the value of the land did not exceed 15–20 percent of the total building cost, unlike these days wherein the prices of plots of land reach 60 percent of the total building cost.” Al-Ahmari added that restoration of the regulation which treats female Saudi citizens equally to male Saudis in obtaining loans is a step in granting equal rights to both sexes. “Implementation of this decision will restore the balance for the family, as the husband and wife will get nearly SR1 million to build their home. However, amid these increasing price hikes in the real estate sector, this amount will not be sufficient. Finishing the structure alone will need 40–50 percent of the building's cost,” he said. Al-Ahmari warned against exploitation by traders and importers of building materials and called on the Ministry of Housing to establish its own company for importing and selling building materials at reasonable prices.
