Riyadh’s housing options are getting too expensive

Riyadh’s ever-climbing property prices get international ink: Home prices in the capital are 81% higher than they were during the pandemic, with apartment prices up 56%, the Financial Times reports, citing researchers at consultancy Knight Frank. An influx of youth migrating to the city is what’s driving the increase in property prices, as young professionals relocate to Riyadh to benefit from new job prospects and social reforms.

The surge in home prices threatens to upend government plans to achieve 70% Saudi home ownership by 2030, the FT said. The kingdom launched state-backed programs to address home affordability via subsidized loans and the construction of new housing units — including a push by the National Housing Company to construct thousands of suburban units.