Riyadh and Jeddah, which are the two key cities in Saudi Arabia, witnessed a rise in housing supply in 2018. As per estimates, in Riyadh, the total housing supply was around 1.29 million units by the end of 2018, up from 1.26 million units at the end of 2017. In Jeddah, the total housing supply stood at 0.817 million units in 2018, which was also an increase from 0.813 million units recorded at the end of 2017.

However, Riyadh’s housing supply is expected to rise by around 30,000 units by 2020, while Jeddah’s housing supply is predicted to increase by around 7,000 units in 2019, and by 16,000 units in 2020. This increase in the housing supply is expected to generate demand for new houses in the Kingdom. 

Despite the current slowdown in the country's real estate market, the demand for lower and middle-income housing remained strong in Riyadh, Jeddah, and DMA (Dammam Metropolitan Area), in 2019.  In Jeddah, the current housing supply is focused mostly on middle-income housing, with the majority of the new housing developments happening in the north and the east of Jeddah. Residential developments in Al Khobar are largely taking place in The Al Khamra and Al Aziziyah districts, as the central areas have limited availability of residential land, following many years of strong development activity. 

The number of residential transactions in Riyadh increased by nearly 122% Y-o-Y in Q3 2019, and the number of residential transactions in Jeddah also increased by 82% Y-o-Y in Q3 2019, indicating a steady recovery in real estate transactions for the fourth consecutive quarter. The number of residential transactions in the DMA (Dammam Metropolitan Area) also increased by 72% Y-o-Y in Q3 2019, for the fourth consecutive quarter. The value of residential transactions witnessed a significant increase mainly driven by a surge in transaction volumes, as prices remain under pressure. Soft market conditions, efforts to expand the mortgage market, largescale housing schemes, and improving consumer sentiment contributed to this positive momentum in the increase of residential transactions, within the country.