Saudi Arabia to Allow Foreign Property Ownership: Report

General Real Estate Authority CEO Abdullah al-Hammad said this will come into effect soon

Saudi Arabia is in the final stages of establishing a new system for foreign ownership of real estate, the General Real Estate Authority CEO Abdullah al-Hammad said, according to a report recently.

The comment on foreign ownership of property in the Kingdom was made during a televised interview. Non-citizens would reportedly be able to purchase real estate of all kinds, including commercial, residential and agricultural.

The system would supposedly also allow ownership in Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holy cities. While it is not clear when the rule will go into effect, al-Hammad was quoted as saying that it will be “soon.”

Addressing the possible negative effects of foreign ownership of property, al-Hammad said that all possibilities were taken into account while developing the system. Early in 2023, Al Arabiya English reported that Saudi Arabia’s real estate market could boom over the next ten years, with investors drawn to the Kingdom by the government’s multimillion-dollar economic projects, such as NEOM.

Developing the real estate sector, by means of new projects and laws, is one of many goals of the Vision 2030 plan.