RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Development Fund deposited SR912 million ($243 million) in the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries in January 2023.
According to a Saudi Press Agency report, this deposit – which also comes from the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing – is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals which aim to provide adequate housing opportunities for Saudi families.
Mansour bin Madi, CEO of REDF said that the deposit of SR912 million is allocated to support subsidized real estate financing contracts.
Madi further pointed out that the total amount deposited in the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries since the announcement of the transformation program in June 2017 until January 2023, exceeded SR44.7 billion.
The Ministry of Housing and the Real Estate Development Fund launched the Sakani program in 2017, ultimately aimed at increasing the proportion of Saudi households that own a house to 70 percent by 2030.
More than 1.6 million Saudi nationals were on waiting lists for government housing programs, which led to the development of the “Housing Program” in 2018, launched with the objective of increasing access for Saudi families to suitable housing.
Madi added that since the launch of the Sakani program, REDF has enabled more than 684,000 families in the Kingdom to own their own housing.
Earlier in December, REDF and Riyadh-based mortgage lender Bidaya Home Finance signed an agreement to provide affordable housing and financing solutions to real estate financial institutions and firms.
Saudi Arabia’s housing demand stood at 99,600 houses in 2021 and is expected to increase by more than 50 percent to reach 153,000 houses by 2030.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 23, Majid Al-Hogail, the Saudi minister of housing and municipal and rural affairs, launched the National Housing Co.’s new online platform for the purchase of building materials.
The platform is designed to connect contractors and real estate developers with suppliers of building materials approved by the NHC, SPA reported.
According to the report, the platform will offer access to a variety of building materials at reduced prices with the aim of increasing efficiency in production, lowering the cost of housing units and increasing home ownership.
