Apr. EN 2019

6 Mazaya Monthly Real Estate Report - Week 2 - April 2019 Al Mazaya noted that the real estate sector in various markets in the region is facing strong competition and challenges as interest rates continue to rise, trading markets continue to improve, and the stability of gold has deepened as a safe investment haven. This comes at a time when investment opportunities and risks have proved to be equal in all sectors and activities, and therefore the preference will be for the most stable and most profitable opportunities. Al Mazaya said that the improvement in total transaction values in Saudi Arabia was due to the increase in the volume of retail mortgages, which exceeded SAR 154 billion. Within this context, Saudi Arabia seems to be on the right track by the end of the first quarter of this year, with performance indicators showing an improvement in the real estate market, which ended the first quarter with an increase of 28% in conducted transactions to SAR 49.7 billion as compared to the corresponding period last year, with the residential sector accounting for 34% of the value of these transactions, and the commercial sector for 15.9% during the same period. The region’s real estate market has demonstrated its ability to compete with other shared sectors in attracting liquidity both domestically and from abroad during the first quarter of this year despite the surrounding pressures on the overall economic performance. However, this performance is still below expectations and not up to the aspired level.