Jabal Omar lists 400+ Mecca units as Saudi’s foreign property ownership rules take effect

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Saudi Arabia’s Jabal Omar Development is wasting little time capitalizing on the Kingdom’s newly finalized foreign property ownership rules, disclosing plans to put more than 400 serviced residential units in its flagship project in Mecca on the market this year. The developer is also moving forward with the seventh and final phase the project, according to a Tadawul disclosure.

Why now? The announcement comes just days after the Saudi Cabinet approved the long-awaited executive regulations for the Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis. The rules designate areas of Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Madinah where foreigners can buy and the Real Estate General Authority has begun accepting ownership applications through the Saudi Properties platform.

Inflation pains grow in Iran: June Inflation came in at 88.6% y-o-y in Iran as the war compounds the country’s longstanding. Food prices were among the hardest hit, with prices more than doubling during the period between the period 22 May to 21 June (the Persian month of Khordad), Al Arabiya reports, citing data from the Statistical Center of Iran.

Background: Cost of living has been one of the key issues that drove mass protests in Iran last December, with annual inflation recording 52.6% then. Immediately before the war, y-o-y inflation was at 68%.

Iran’s economic woes strengthens the case for economic incentives during the US-Iran talks. The Iranian regime is facing a staggering rebuilding bill at a self-proclaimed estimate of USD 270 bn due to damage caused by the war, and the political future for the current leadership overseeing negotiations may hinge on their ability to show quick results for Iranians on living standards amid growing pressures from regime hardliners who are against ending the war.

REMEMBER- Iran is angling for massive sanctions relief. Some of the major incentives floated so far, besides lifting oil sanctions, include a USD 300 bn investment vehicle and unfreezing up to USD 100 bn of Iranian assets abroad, possibly starting with some USD 6 bn of frozen oil revenues currently in Qatar.

It was good while it lasted

Hormuz tailwinds for Egypt’s fertilizer exports are slowing down: The Egyptian Investment Ministry is ditching its flat export fee on nitrogen fertilizers in favor of a dynamic 10% duty linked to the free-on-board value, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette. The decision is a clear response to falling fertilizer rates in June — repealing the flat USD 90 per ton fixed export fee that was slapped on the sector back in May to capture a slice of the massive windfall local producers were generating after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked off rival Gulf suppliers.

World Cup real estate windfall? Property values in 2026 World Cup host cities has risen at an average of 44% since the event was awarded to the US, Canada, and Mexico in 2018, Arab News reports, citing an analysis by the London-based wealth management platform Enness Global. Cities that have been largely off investors’ radars as go-to real estate markets were the biggest beneficiaries.

Why does it matter? The next two World Cups are taking place in our region — raising the question of whether that juices prices. Six Moroccan cities are co-hosting the 2030 competition alongside Portugal and Spain, and Saudi Arabia is hosting the following iteration in 2034.

The unanswered question: What happens to prices when the fans go home next month?