Arab News, Wednesday, Jul 26, 2023 | Muharram 8, 1445
Real Estate Development Fund deposits $247m in Sakani accounts in July
Saudi Arabia:
Aimed at increasing homeownership among Saudis, the Kingdom’s Real Estate
Development Fund has released another tranche of financing worth SR929 million
($247 million) to the beneficiaries of the affordable housing program Sakani in
July.
This tranche is 1.42 percent up from the SR916
million the fund deposited last month into the accounts of the beneficiaries.
The fund’s move to release the fund in conjunction
with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing aligns with the
Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals to provide adequate housing opportunities for Saudi
families.
According to the fund’s CEO Mansour bin Madi, the
deposited amount was allocated to support the subsidized real estate financing
contracts, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The CEO added that the total amount deposited in
the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries from June 2017 up to July 2023 has now
amounted to an estimated SR50.2 billion.
He further said that the continuity of depositing
the housing subsidy at the specified monthly time comes as an affirmation of the
continuous efforts to further enable the beneficiaries to own the first home
according to their needs and respective financial capabilities.
Launched in 2017, Sakani is a real estate
initiative aimed at supporting as well as enabling Saudi citizens to own their
first home. The program seeks to raise the proportion of housing ownership for
Saudi families to 70 percent by 2030.
In June, the fund announced that it had inked
finance agreements worth SR13.7 billion in the first quarter of 2023 to boost
Saudi Arabia’s housing market, according to the National Development Fund’s
quarterly report.
At the time, the report indicated that the deals
sought to offer housing benefits to 21,000 citizens during the first quarter.
Ongoing initiatives implemented by the government,
including access to finance and regulations standardizations, are reforming the
housing market and improving access for Saudi families, according to a report
released by PwC Middle East in December.
Saudi Arabia’s housing demand stood at 99,600
houses in 2021 and was expected to increase by more than 50 percent to reach
153,000 homes by 2030.