Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s plans to bring stability to land values and residential rental rates in Riyadh could not have come at a better time, with property buyers hoping this will have a more or less immediate effect in cooling down the market.
Industry sources say the Saudi move represent the biggest set of reforms since 2016, which was when it introduced a 2.5% annual tax on owners of vacant land. This move at the time eventually allowed more land to be freed up for rapid development.
But it set the stage for property prices and rents to push higher on ever increasing demand from a growing base of Saudi buyers, many of whom were buying their first homes.
