Retail residential mortgages fall to lowest level since December 2018

Residential real estate finance provided by banks to individuals declined by 55% year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 4.15 billion in April, data issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) showed.

Compared to March 2023, residential real estate finance dropped by nearly SAR 3.1 billion, or 43%.

Residential real estate finance in April is the lowest in 4.5 years, or since December 2018, when it reached SAR 3.57 million.

New Retail Residential Real Estate Finance (SAR mln)*
Month	2022	2023	Change
January	12151	8373	(31%)
February	8784	7138	(19%)
March	15276	7251	(53%)
April	9219	4146	(55%)
May	8810	--	--
June	13122	--	--
July	7189	--	--
August	12697	--	--
September	9930	--	--
October	9352	--	--
November	7386	--	--
December	6359	--	--

*Doesn’t include interest.

Villa mortgages accounted for the largest share of the total housing loans provided in April, reaching 67%, or SAR 2.78 billion. Apartments and land plots followed with SAR 1.05 billion and SAR 314 million, respectively.

New Real Estate Finance by Product Type (SAR mln)*
Period	Villas	Apartments	Land
January 2022	9403	2106	642
February	6818	1498	468
March	9224	2956	3096
April	5902	1707	1610
May	6785	1605	420
June	9415	3167	540
July	5392	1514	283
August	8607	3618	472
September	6708	2825	396
October	6190	2717	445
November	5127	1879	380
December	4397	1648	313
January 2023	5645	2315	413
February	4964	1823	351
March	5048	1745	457
April	2781	1050	314

*Doesn’t include interest.

According to SAMA, nearly 5,027 contracts were signed between banks and retail clients in April, a decline of 53% YoY.

Number of New Real Estate Finance Contracts by Banks*
Month	2022	2023	Change
January	16442	11113	(32%)
February	11615	9574	(18%)
March	18999	9526	(50%)
April	11255	5270	(53%)
May	10943	--	--
June	16487	--	--
July	9047	--	--
August	16255	--	--
September	12902	--	--
October	12397	--	--
November	9785	--	--
December	8265	--	--

*Doesn’t include interest

Financing firms provided new real estate finance worth SAR 167 million in April, a rise of 21% YoY.

Number of New Real Residential Estate Finance Contracts by Financing Firms (SAR mln)
Month	2022	2023	Change
January	264	310	+17%
February	221	284	+29%
March	304	228	(25%)
April	211	167	(21%)
May	148	--	--
June	351	--	--
July	167	--	--
August	284	--	--
September	305	--	--
October	280	--	--
November	271	--	--
December	280	--	--