Saudi Arabia Real Estate Transaction Volumes
Transaction volume data provides the clearest measure of market liquidity and buyer confidence. In H1 2025, total Saudi real estate transactions reached SAR 123.8 billion (USD 32.9 billion), with residential activity comprising 63% of total value. The residential segment recorded 93,700 deals worth SAR 77.5 billion, up 7% year-on-year in volume. These figures, sourced from Knight Frank Saudi Arabia and Argaam financial data, confirm a market that continues to deepen despite moderating price growth. The transaction landscape reflects a maturing market where volume growth increasingly comes from broadening participation rather than pure price escalation.
National Transaction Snapshot
The 2024 residential transaction profile provides important baseline context. Residential property sales across Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Dammam Metropolitan Area totalled SAR 118 billion (USD 32 billion) across 102,522 transactions — a 50% increase versus 2023, according to Deloitte and CBRE analysis. Sales transactions accounted for 65.1% of the total market, anchored by villa purchases in Riyadh Al Narjis and Jeddah Al Hamra.
The transaction composition reveals important structural shifts. While total value continues to grow, the mix is evolving. The rise in deal count alongside value growth suggests broadening participation rather than simply larger individual transactions. Mid-market activity — apartments priced USD 133,000-400,000 — accounts for an increasing share, reflecting both developer focus on this segment and buyer response to mortgage market expansion. The 28.3% annual increase in apartment mortgage lending through February 2025 is directly visible in transaction volumes, as first-time buyers enter the market in unprecedented numbers.
The financial infrastructure supporting these volumes has expanded dramatically. Total real estate loans reached SAR 951.3 billion by year-end 2025 (up 7.7%), with retail mortgages at SAR 698.8 billion (up 11.7% YoY) and corporate real estate loans at SAR 223.4 billion (up 27.5% YoY). Housing finance for individuals reached USD 12.8 billion in H1 2025, up 15% from H1 2024. This credit expansion directly enables the transaction volumes observed — without the sevenfold mortgage market growth since 2016, current deal flow would be structurally lower.
City-Level Transaction Analysis
Riyadh
Riyadh’s Q3 2025 residential sales reached SAR 17.6 billion (USD 4.69 billion) across approximately 13,000 transactions, up 18.7% quarter-on-quarter but down 44.3% year-on-year, according to Economy Middle East and Cavendish Maxwell. The year-on-year decline reflects an exceptionally strong Q3 2024 comparison base rather than market weakness — quarterly volumes remain well above historical averages, and the sequential quarter-on-quarter acceleration confirms ongoing momentum.
The capital’s 41.5% share of national market activity reflects the RHQ programme’s transformative impact. With 600+ international companies establishing regional headquarters — exceeding the 2030 target ahead of schedule — corporate demand for both commercial and residential space continues to accelerate. Each RHQ requiring minimum 15 senior employees translates directly to housing transactions in premium districts, supporting the SAR 6,600-15,000/sqm price range in Al Olaya, the Diplomatic Quarter, and KAFD.
Riyadh’s transaction profile spans the full market spectrum. At the affordable end, NHC’s Khuzam district launch (11 projects, 10,000+ units, entry at SAR 250,000) targets first-time buyers accessing REDF subsidies. At the premium end, ROSHN SEDRA has sold over USD 2.5 billion in residential units, while Diplomatic Quarter villas trade at SAR 5-12 million. This breadth — from SAR 250,000 entry-level to SAR 10+ million luxury — demonstrates the capital’s depth as a multi-segment market.
The pipeline of 57,000-70,000 new units for 2026-2027 delivery will test whether transaction volumes can absorb increasing supply. If absorption rates hold, Riyadh could sustain SAR 60-70 billion in annual residential transactions. If supply overwhelms near-term demand in specific submarkets, particularly the northern expansion corridor where An Narjis and Al Sahafah already command SAR 11,000/sqm, localised volume softening is possible.
Jeddah
Jeddah recorded 7,500 transactions in Q3 2025, up 10% quarter-on-quarter, with sales values reaching SAR 8.7 billion (USD 2.31 billion). The port city’s transaction profile is increasingly influenced by tourism-driven demand and the waterfront development corridor along the Corniche. Apartment prices averaging SAR 4,200-4,500/sqm (up 1.6% YoY) and villa prices at SAR 5,000-5,707/sqm (up 3.1%) suggest moderate but consistent price growth supporting transaction volumes without affordability constraints that might suppress deal count.
Jeddah’s transaction volumes have been more stable than Riyadh’s, reflecting a market driven by steady local demand rather than corporate relocation dynamics. The 1.23 million existing units and 4,320 completions in Q3 2025 maintain a supply-demand balance that supports liquidity without the extreme tightness characterising Riyadh. Luxury districts Al-Shati and Al-Hamra (SAR 8,000-14,000/sqm) contribute disproportionately to transaction value, while budget areas like Al Fayha’a (from SAR 3,750/sqm) drive volume.
Major development activity will reshape Jeddah’s transaction landscape. ROSHN MARAFY (14,000 units for 130,000 residents) and Dar Al Arkan’s Orchid Land (1 million sqm, USD 1.1 billion acquisition) represent pipeline that, upon delivery, will generate significant transaction activity. The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Jeddah Corniche adds luxury transaction inventory in the coastal premium segment.
Dammam Metropolitan Area
The DMA saw the most dramatic transaction growth, with 3,000 deals in Q3 2025 — the highest in recent years — up 37% quarter-on-quarter and 58.5% year-on-year according to Cavendish Maxwell. This surge occurs against a backdrop of regional price decline (Eastern Region -8.3% YoY in Q3 2024), suggesting that falling prices have unlocked affordability-driven demand. The DMA’s projected 8.41% CAGR to 2031 — highest among major cities — suggests this volume uptick may be an early indicator of sustained activity.
The DMA’s affordability advantage is the primary transaction driver. Entry-level villas at SAR 1,080/sqm and apartments at SAR 2,500-5,000/sqm place homeownership within reach for demographics priced out of Riyadh. The 725,812 existing units and relatively low completion rate (428 units in Q3 2025) suggest the market is absorbing existing stock rather than relying on new supply — a dynamic that, if sustained, will attract developer attention and new construction.
ROSHN’s ALDANAH Dhahran (2,500 homes) and ALFULWA (18,000 units for 100,000 people) represent the first large-scale institutional development targeted at the DMA, potentially catalysing a new transaction cycle as master-planned community inventory enters the market.
Makkah
Makkah showed a revealing divergence in H1 2025: total transaction value fell 33% while the number of deals increased 11%, according to Knight Frank. This suggests a clear shift toward more affordable or smaller units, consistent with the city’s unique dynamics where spiritual tourism drives demand across a wide price range. Apartment prices averaging SAR 3,650/sqm but exceeding SAR 10,000/sqm near the Haram create a price range that accommodates both pilgrimage-motivated purchases and investment acquisitions.
The Jabal Omar development (46 towers, 2.5 million sqm), Masar destination (USD 27 billion), and Thakher Makkah (USD 7 billion) anchor premium transaction activity near the Grand Mosque. These mega-projects combine residential units with hospitality inventory, creating transaction categories that blend traditional residential purchase with hospitality-linked investment.
Madinah
Madinah recorded the Kingdom’s strongest transaction growth in H1 2025, with residential sales value surging 49% year-on-year to SAR 3.4 billion (USD 904 million) and transaction volumes growing 38% — the highest growth rate in the Kingdom. This performance, against a backdrop of residential prices falling 4.7% in 2025 (following a slight 0.8% decline in 2024), confirms that improving affordability drives volume acceleration when fundamental demand exists.
Madinah’s 353,400 existing units and pipeline of 27,860 additional homes by 2028 position the city for continued transaction growth. Apartment prices at SAR 3,835/sqm (up 2.5% YoY) and entry-level units from SAR 320,000 provide accessible price points. The Rua Al Madinah development and Knowledge Economic City add institutional-quality inventory to a market historically dominated by smaller-scale development.
Transaction Type Analysis
Sales transactions dominated at 65.1% of total market activity in 2025, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s homeownership-oriented culture and the government’s 70% homeownership target. The Sakani programme’s 54,000+ families served in H1 2025, REDF financing growth of 16.4% to USD 16.7 billion, and cumulative 1.2+ million programme beneficiaries demonstrate the policy apparatus converting demographic demand into ownership transactions.
Land transactions remain a significant market component, particularly in expanding suburban areas where developers acquire parcels for new community developments. ROSHN, NHC, and private developers like Dar Al Arkan — whose USD 1.1 billion Orchid Land acquisition was the largest single land deal in recent memory — and Emaar Middle East (Al Narjis and Al Fursan Communities, combined SAR 3.8 billion) drive institutional land transaction volumes.
The 5% Real Estate Transaction Tax (RETT) applies to all property transfers, generating government revenue while adding a predictable cost to each transaction. At current average transaction sizes, RETT represents a meaningful but manageable component of total acquisition cost.
Developer Pre-Sales and Off-Plan Activity
Developer pre-sales represent an increasingly important component of transaction volumes. ROSHN’s SEDRA Riyadh — with over USD 2.5 billion in residential units sold — demonstrates the scale of off-plan transaction activity in the Saudi market. NHC’s USD 6.7 billion in 2024 sales across 39 projects similarly reflect significant pre-completion transaction volumes.
Off-plan sales allow developers to generate revenue before delivery, funding ongoing construction from buyer deposits. For buyers, off-plan pricing typically offers a discount to completed-unit pricing — with the new-build premium of 12% per sqm over existing stock, off-plan discounts effectively align pre-completion pricing closer to existing market levels.
The off-plan market introduces transaction timing complexity. Units sold off-plan in 2024 may not transfer or be occupied until 2026-2027, creating a lag between transaction recording and economic impact. This lag means that current transaction volumes partly reflect future supply absorption, providing forward visibility into demand but also creating potential double-counting risks in market analysis.
Emaar Middle East’s Al Narjis and Al Fursan Communities (combined SAR 3.8 billion) launched at Cityscape Global 2025 represent high-profile off-plan launches that generate concentrated transaction activity around developer marketing events. These launches often produce rapid absorption — Dar Al Arkan’s projects have demonstrated strong pre-sale conversion — providing market confidence signals that influence broader buyer sentiment.
Seasonal and Cyclical Patterns
Saudi transaction volumes show distinct seasonal patterns. Activity typically peaks in Q1 and Q4, influenced by government budget cycles and developer launch schedules. The Hajj and Ramadan periods create temporary slowdowns in non-holy city markets while boosting Makkah and Madinah hospitality-linked transactions.
Forward Indicators
Leading indicators for transaction volume include mortgage application data (28.3% annual increase through February 2025), building permit activity, and developer pre-sales announcements. The lowering of the minimum age for housing support from 25 to 20 years expands the eligible buyer pool, while the new foreign ownership law effective January 2026 introduces an entirely new demand source — foreign individuals, companies, and investment funds in designated zones, with digital fractional ownership recognised by REGA.
The 19 REITs listed on Tadawul provide an additional institutional transaction channel, though sector performance challenges (17 of 19 declining in 2025, down 5.9% overall) suggest listed market volumes may understate direct market activity.
Emerging City Transaction Activity
Beyond the five major markets, emerging cities are contributing growing transaction volumes that reflect Saudi Arabia’s geographic diversification:
Tabuk transaction activity has increased significantly since NEOM’s mobilisation, with land transactions along the Tabuk-NEOM corridor showing 30-50% price appreciation since 2022. While absolute transaction volumes remain modest compared to major cities, the growth trajectory reflects genuine demand from NEOM workforce housing requirements and speculative positioning by investors underwriting the giga-project thesis.
Abha shows seasonal transaction patterns aligned with tourism demand, with peak activity during spring and early summer as buyers position ahead of the highland city’s tourist season. The Soudah Development mega-project has stimulated land transactions in surrounding areas, creating a development anticipation dynamic similar to Tabuk’s NEOM-driven activity.
Jubail’s transaction volumes correlate with industrial investment cycles. Periods of Saudi Aramco downstream expansion and petrochemical plant commissioning generate construction-workforce housing demand that translates to transaction spikes. The Royal Commission’s supply management mechanism moderates speculative transaction activity, producing steadier volume patterns than open-market cities.
For city-level analysis, developer activity tracking, market forecast, supply pipeline, or investment yield calculations, explore our dedicated sections. Contact info@saudiarabiahouses.com for institutional transaction data.