Housing challenges in Saudi Arabia: the shortage of suitable housing units for various socioeconomic segments of Saudi society

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the obstacles to the availability of suitable housing units for various socioeconomic segments of society with an emphasis on single-family homes, which is the most preferred housing type in the Saudi society. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the aim of this paper, the Delphi method was used to explore the experts’ opinions on the most important obstacles. Findings The findings of the study underline 17 different obstacles affecting the availability of suitable housing units for various segments of the Saudi society. The most critical obstacle is the high cost of land followed by the low income of the families, high cost of construction, high interest rate of mortgages and shortage of suitable residential lands. Originality/value The study concludes with a number of proposed recommendations that can contribute to address the current shortage of suitable housing units.

Affordable housing in Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030: new developments and new challenges

“…The content analysis technique was used in this study for data analysis of gathered documents and secondary data where it fits well with this research study and it was used in a number of similar studies (Abubakar and Aina, 2019; Abubakar and Dano, 2019; Alqahtany and Mohanna, 2019). Content analysis is a widely used qualitative research technique (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005).…”

“…The country extends from the Arabian Gulf in the east to the Red Sea in the West; bounded on the north by Kuwait, Iraq and Jorden; on the east by Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE; and on the south by Oman and Yemen. The country is divided into 13 administrative regions, with 34.2 million people living there as of 2019 (Alqahtany and Mohanna, 2019). According to the latest census figures from General Authority for Statistics (2020), the population of the KSA is projected to reach 39.1 million by 2025 based on the population growth rate of 2.52% per annum.…”

“…Despite the significance of housing as an issue, studies that discuss housing issues within the Saudi Vision 2030 are few (Al Surf and Mostafa, 2017; Bahammam, 2018), most of the previous studies were concentrated on identifying preferred housing characteristics (Al-Hargi et al , 2004; Mohanna and Alqahtany, 2019) or the challenges facing Saudi housing sector (Al-Kadi and Al-Jarallah, 2007; Alqahtany and Mohanna, 2019). However, through an in-depth reading of the vibrant society theme, its sub-themes and the previous studies, several elements have been recognized as related (either directly or indirectly) to the housing sector in general and affordable housing in particular as shown in Table 2.…”

“…Despite the significance of housing as a topic, studies that discuss housing issues within the Saudi Vision 2030 are few (Al Surf and Mostafa, 2017; Bahammam, 2018). Most studies concentrated on identifying preferred housing characteristics (Al-Hargi et al , 2004; Mohanna and Alqahtany, 2019) or challenges that are facing the Saudi housing sector (Al-Kadi and Al-Jarallah, 2007; Alqahtany and Mohanna, 2019). Therefore, this study aims to discuss the housing delivery within the Saudi Vision 2030 through an in-depth reading of the Saudi Vision 2030 from the researcher’s point of view.…”

Critical Junctures in Sustainable Social Housing Policy Development in Saudi Arabia: A Review

“…Later, there was a shift from a direct housing strategy to an indirect approach to attain economic viability in housing delivery. In 1974, an indirect approach materialised through establishing the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF), provisioning USD 66 million in housing loans with zero interest for citizens [42,74]. The Aramco Company also adopted a similar approach to serving their workers in major oil regions.…”