Prices of Riyadh’s villas, apartments drop 3% in Q3: JLL

Sales prices of villas and apartments in Riyadh fell three percent year-on-year (YoY) in Q3 2018, according to JLL’s Q3 Riyadh Real Estate Market Overview.

Average rents also continued to drop, with marginal declines of 1 percent for apartments and 2 percent Y-o-Y for villas.

“The new contracts, which are considered legally binding and enforced, are likely to be a positive catalyst to the regulation and transparency of the residential sector,” JLL said.

The total supply of residential units stood at 1.29 million units, with a further 7,000 units expected in Q4 2018.

Office rents eased four percent YoY in Q3 2018. Average rents currently reach SAR 1,248 per square meter, compared to SAR 1.297 per sqm a year earlier.

“The last quarter of 2018 is expected to see a more significant increase in the supply of office space, with nearly 153,000 sqm scheduled for completion,” the report added.

Going forward, Riyadh’s retail market is projected to see an increase in supply with over 388,000 sqm of retail gross leasable area (GLA) in the pipeline.

In the hotel market, almost 1,600 rooms and 800 serviced apartments are scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

“The hotel market in Riyadh did not witness any notable additions to the supply over Q3 2018. As such, the total hotel room stock in Riyadh remained unchanged at around 12,400 keys,” JLL added.

Average daily rates dropped six percent to USD 173 in the same period.