Arab News, Monday, May 22, 2023 | Thul-Qidah 2, 1444
Kingdom’s Real Estate Development Fund inks 2 agreements to support Sakani beneficiaries
Saudi Arabia:
More Saudi citizens will have access to easy financing solutions to help them
own homes thanks to the agreements signed between the Kingdom’s Real Estate
Development Fund and Bank Albilad and Saudi Awwal Bank.
The parties will work together to help
beneficiaries of the Kingdom’s housing program, Sakani. It is a real estate
initiative aimed at supporting as well as enabling Saudi citizens and families
to own their first home.
The program seeks to raise the proportion of
housing ownership for Saudi families to 70 percent by 2030.
The two new agreements will help the housing
program progress one step closer toward its goal.
The deals aim to diversify the housing support
options for Sakani beneficiaries, one of which includes provision of up to
SR150,000 ($39,999) on certain housing options such as ready-made units.
The CEO of REDF, Mansour bin Madi, said the two
agreements were part of strategic partnerships planned with banks and real
estate financing institutions.
In April, Saudi families received more support to
own homes after SR933 million were deposited into their Sakani accounts.
The amount was paid out by REDF in conjunction
with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing.
It was allocated to support various housing
support contracts, according to Bin Madi.
Ongoing initiatives implemented by the government,
including access to finance and regulations standardizations, are reforming the
Saudi housing market, according to a report released by PwC Middle East in
December.
Saudi Arabia’s housing demand stood at 99,600
houses in 2021 and is expected to increase by more than 50 percent to reach
153,000 houses by 2030.