Real Estate Predictions 2023

Deloitte’s nineth annual Real Estate Predictions report focuses on the performance of Saudi Arabia’s real estate market in 2022, forecasting the changes in the hospitality, residential, office, retail, industrial and logistics sectors in 2023. 

Key findings

• Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 8.6% in Q3 2022 and is expected to grow by 8.3% in Q4 2022, before moderating to 3.7% and 2.3% in 2023 and 2024 respectively, according to the World Bank. 
• The post-COVID recovery of the real estate sector is led by increasing tourist demand and government spending on infrastructure projects such as the Riyadh Airport expansion, among others.
• The first three months of the year were the strongest for occupancy performance in Riyadh, reaching 76% in March. Meanwhile, Jeddah hotels recorded the highest occupancy performance in May at 59%.
• Sales prices for villas and apartments have increased during the first nine months of 2022 in comparison to 2021 and the demand for apartments from Saudi nationals has remained strong. 
• Employment forecasts from Oxford Economics indicate the Financial and Business Services segment registered a year-on-year growth of 12% in KSA.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimates that the total KSA retail sales volume will increase by approximately 4% in 2022, with sales expected to increase by 2% a year on average between 2023 to 2026.
• Rents have remained relatively stable for prime stock due to the limited availability of international grade warehouse facilities and the increasing demand from logistics companies.