Value of Saudi property deals decline 50% in Q1: KAMCO

The total real estate transactions in Saudi Arabia declined 25 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in the Q1 2018, as transacted value fell by nearly 50 percent, KAMCO Research said in a recent report.

The total number of transactions reached 53,195 worth SAR 36.68 billion, the report noted.

The drop in sale transactions was mostly attributed to lower residential transactions which constitute over 88 percent of the overall transaction volumes and 70 percent of the overall value transacted.

On a year-on-year basis, total number of transactions fell by 15 percent, while value transacted receded by 31 percent as compared to Q1, 2017.

In the residential segment, transaction number slipped 23 percent in Q1 2018, as value declined 47 percent to SAR 27.1 billion.

Commercial transaction volumes fell by 35 percent to reach 6,212 transactions in the first three months of 2018, while value transacted receded by 58 percent to SAR 11.6 billion.

Separately, KAMCO Research said the total value of transactions in the GCC countries declined by 37.3 percent in Q1 to $21.5 billion compared to $34.2 billion in Q4, 2017.

The number of transactions in the region fell by 11.3 percent over the same period to reach 126,854 transactions.

While Dubai saw property transaction numbers dropping by 28 percent in Q1 2018, Kuwait and Oman recorded growth, the report said.