What are the key considerations for home buyers in Saudi Arabia?

One of the first factors we wanted to investigate from our recent Saudi Arabia Residential Survey was around households’ living arrangements and the drivers behind their current home choice.

Overall, for those living in villas, privacy (68%) ranks as the most popular consideration. This was closely followed by more space, both outdoors (56%) and indoors (51%), which we believe is a direct result of the pandemic and the desire for more space as households begin to adapt their working patterns, with the expectation of spending more time at home in the future. Shared facilities were, perhaps unsurprisingly, the least popular consideration for villa occupants (23%).

The importance of privacy amongst those living in villas transcends geography, with those in Riyadh (66%) valuing privacy as much as those in Jeddah (71%) as well as Dammam (73%).

Married couples (73%) value privacy far more than those living with their parents (62%), mirroring the trend amongst homeowners (74%) and tenants (61%).

Interestingly, the highest earners (>SAR 60,000 per month) appreciate privacy the most (78%), when compared to respondents in other income brackets.

“The highest earners appreciate privacy far more than those in lower income brackets”

Apartment dwellers have different priorities to those in villas

Cost considerations (62%) top the list of apartment likes overall. This trend is echoed around the Kingdom, however is more prevalent amongst married couples (65%), those on monthly earnings of less than SAR 20,000 (64%) and respondents with a monthly take-home pay of above SAR 60,000 (64%).

In general, tenants (69%) appear to prefer living in apartments primarily due to cost savings; i.e., the lower rental costs associated with leasing an apartment, as opposed to a villa.

Discover the full Saudi Arabia Report 2022