An estimated SR30 billion is expected to be invested in the Saudi Arabian real estate sector now that the government has decided to allow foreigners to own buildings in the Kingdom.
The decision, taken some time ago, has yet to be implemented, according to Khaleej Times. Officials in the Kingdom are therefore studying a plan to bring it into effect, apparently some time next year. The Saudi Ministry of Interior must first agree to the plan's implementation, pending other conditions that need to be fulfilled.
The organizational structure of the regulation was still under study, according to Al Watan.
"The ownership or issuing title deeds will be based on the consent of the Ministry of Interior. The new rules will be enforced in one or two years," a senior official stated.
"The decision will help in combating the practice now applied by foreigners," said one Saudi realtor. He explained that under the current circumstances, foreigners "write the land or the building they bought in the name of a Saudi."
