Seventy-three percent of citizens do not have houses of their own, a Shoura Council member said on Wednesday.
Saudis have called on the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) to speed up the disbursement of loans in order to help them build homes before it becomes more expensive.
“It is very difficult to get loans from the REDF. Those who have applied for loans 20 years ago are only getting them now. Prices of real estate and building material are going up every day. So I request the REDF to expedite the issuance of loans to help citizens realize their dream of owning their own homes,” said Ezzuddin Hafiz, a Saudi teacher.
He said the REDF has increased the loan amount given to each deserving citizen from SR300,000 to SR500,000. “But this amount will not be enough now to build a house. They may require at least SR1 million,” he told Arab News. Saudi Arabia needs more than 98,000 new housing units.
Hafiz said it would be difficult for a government to provide housing for all its citizens. “People should work hard and make money to build their homes. They should not waste money by spending it on unnecessary things.”
The Shoura, meanwhile, blasted the Housing Ministry, saying it was very slow in carrying out its projects.
“The ministry has so far failed to meet the growing housing demand,” the consultative body said, adding that it was not convinced by the statistics given by the Ministry of Economy and Planning that 60 percent of Saudis own houses.
The council also urged the ministry to prepare lands for building houses and distribute them quickly among deserving citizens within a given timeframe. Seventy-three percent of citizens do not own a house, a Shoura Council member said on Wednesday while Saudis called on the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) to speed up disbursement of loans in order to help them build homes before it becomes more expensive.
“It is very difficult to get loans from REDF. Those who have applied for loans 20 years ago are now getting them. Prices of real estate and building materials are going up every day. So, I request REDF to expedite issuance of loans to help citizens realize their dream of having own homes,” said Ezzuddin Hafiz, a Saudi teacher.
He said REDF has increased the loan amount given to each deserving citizen from SR300,000 to SR500,000. “But this amount will not be enough now to build a house. They may require at least SR1 million,” he told Arab News. Saudi Arabia needs more than 98,000 new housing units.
Hafiz said it would be difficult for a government to provide housing for all its citizens. “People should work hard and make money to build their homes. They should not waste money by spending it on unnecessary things.”
The Shoura, meanwhile, blasted the Housing Ministry saying it was very slow in carrying out its projects. “The ministry has so far failed to meet the growing housing demand,” the consultative body said.
It added that it was not convinced by the statistics given by the Ministry of Economy and Planning that 60 percent of Saudis own houses.
The council also urged the ministry to prepare lands for building houses and distribute them quickly among the deserving citizens within a timeframe.
