The total value of real estate loans to individuals increased by 41.5 percent year-on year, to SR446 billion ($119 billion) in 2021, while loans given to corporate clients increased by 8.7 percent over the same period. Retail loans constituted 78 percent of real estate loans provided by banks in 2021 as part of the Housing Realization Program under Saudi Vision 2030 with a set target to increase home ownership for citizens to 70 percent by 2030. The outstanding mortgage bank finance for the retail sector which comprises houses, apartments, and land, stood at SR445.7 billion as of the last quarter of 2021.
The initiative under Vision 2030 includes providing mortgage guarantees to support applicants in remote areas and retirees and other groups who have little access to funds because of banks’ lending restrictions. It also includes a subsidy program for beneficiaries aged 45 and above on their first housing repayment. A further attempt by the government to increase affordable housing supply was made by providing a boost to mortgage-backed securities to investors in recent years. This was in the form of provision through the creation of the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund back in 2017.