Riyadh, Saudi Arabia— The Public Investment Fund, Saudi sovereign wealth fund, has launched a new company that aims to digitize and develop the local real estate sector through a comprehensive digital platform.
The National Real Estate Registration Services Company (RER), according to a PIF statement, will work with the Real Estate General Authority and other government entities to build a comprehensive real estate registration database covering data on property units in Saudi Arabia.
Raid Ismail, co-head of Middle East and North Africa direct investments at PIF, said: “The new company’s use of advanced digital solutions in its operations, enabling it to link its platform to all relevant government entities, will enhance reliability and transparency in real estate services and data in Saudi Arabia.”
Saudi Arabia has set an ambitious target of raising home ownership rates in the kingdom to 70 per cent by 2030 under the Sakani program— a joint initiative between the Ministry of Housing and the Real Estate Development Fund.
The fund distributes land plots and arranges home loans for Saudi citizens seeking to build homes.
Home ownership rates in the kingdom have risen amid government support to its citizens.
According to the Ministry of Housing, the home ownership rate rose to 60 per cent in 2020 from 47 per cent in 2016, with the target exceeded by more than 8 per cent during the period.