Saudi Bank Mortgages Tripled In Q1

Bank mortgage contracts tripled in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year, growing 221% and totalling 31,462 contracts valued at approximately $4 billion, according to a report by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).

The size of funding also grew 133% compared to the same quarter of last year, resulting in the highest performance of mortgage finance in several months, the report showed.

Moreover, the number of new residential mortgage contracts granted by all financing bodies including commercial banks and individual finance companies grew 206% to total 12,148 in March 2019 compared to the same month in 2018. Their total value rose 114% to $1.5bn compared to the same period last year.

The number of contracts for products provided by the Ministry of Housing and the Real Estate Development Fund through housing support programmes in March 2019 amounted to about 10,364 contracts with a total value of $1.2bn, compared to $960 million in February the same year.

Products from the residential support programs accounted for 85% of the total number of contracts, and about 79% of the value of funds during the month of March.

In addition, retail loans for individuals grew three times (210%) in February 2019 compared to the same month last year, with 9,736 new financing contracts worth more than $1.2bn having been signed during the month.

The Ministry of Housing recently launched a programme that facilitates financial government support in order to help citizens enjoy profit from mortgages and raise their ownership rate to 70% by 2030.