The Shoura Council is scheduled to discuss on Sunday a number of draft regulations affecting real estate financing, control of financing companies, leasing, and mortgaging of notarized real property. Dr. Osama Abou Ghararah, Chairman of the Council's Financial Committee, said that the Council is to examine one of the most important economic portfolios in the real estate business. Abou Ghararah did not give a specific date for the release of and submission of the draft regulations to the Council of Ministers for final endorsement. A report released by the Financial Affairs Committee pointed to the existence of a large discrepancy between supply and demand in the real estate business as the former is estimated at 570,000 housing units and the latter at 1.1 million units. The gap was ascribed to the paucity of mechanism for financing of the housing sector and scarcity of large companies operating in the area of real estate development. In the year 2007, 479,637 applications were on the waiting list of the Real Estate Development Fund for loans, which translates into a waiting time of 20 years for prospective beneficiaries. Once a loan is approved, it only covers part of the construction costs due to the ensuing rise in prices over the months. – Okaz __
