Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash is smack dab in the middle of a Saudi real estate market that is red-hot right now. Here’s why: Statista.com reported in March that the approximate value of the Saudi real estate industry is slated to hit $161.3 billion in 2023. While it’s currently generating 9.4% of the kingdom’s non-oil gross domestic product, the Saudi real estate market is projected to register a compound annual growth rate of more than 9.74% from 2022 to 2027. With luxury properties to look at, there has been a large increase in people investing in real estate to start generating a passive income.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic affected the Saudi economy negatively — as it did in most countries — by May 2021, its real estate market had already started to show signs of improvement, according to reportlinker.com. Mordorintelligence.com also reports that Saudi Arabia’s residential market is rising, with apartment values in Riyadh and Jeddah increasing since 2021, if you are looking into selling your home then contact the expert in Sell Houses Fast Charleston.
Arabianbusiness.com states that Riyadh is leading the rush for real estate in Saudi Arabia.
Worldwide real estate consultant Knight Frank shared that apartments in the city are up by 20% and villas are experiencing an 18.6% increase in sales prices.
Part of the appeal of the Riyadh boom can be attributed to jobs. Arabian Business says younger Saudis are relocating to the capital city for job opportunities. More than 79% of employers are feeling positive about the outlook for business this year in Saudi Arabia, according to Hays 2022 Saudi Arabia Salary Guide.
Hays Saudi Arabia business manager Aaron Fletcher told zawya.com the job market in Saudi Arabia has certainly bounced back over the past two years.
Bloomberg.com reported that unemployment among Saudi nationals dipped to 11%, the lowest it’s been since 2009, and the private sector added more than 250,000 jobs.
Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash on Board of Award-Winning Home Financing Brand
Abdullatif Al Shelash, who is a board member at Saudi Home Loans, says he’s happy to see new home buyers make their first purchase a reality through Saudi Home Loans. “[Saudi Home Loans] helped in urbanization because many people could not afford to think of buying a house to live in the city, they were living in the suburbs,” Abdullatif Al Shelash points out. “So they moved into the city because of that ability of home loans and mortgages.”
Abdullatif Al Shelash describes himself as a kinetic leader who is in touch with the people and the market.
Abdullatif Al Shelash adds that he’s heavily involved in collaborating between the private and the public sector in the real estate industry. “I’m always meeting many of the governmental companies that have been established in Saudi in the last four to five years,” Abdullatif Al Shelash says.
Saudi Home Loans specializes in connecting buyers with the best-suited home loan opportunities under Sharia law. Using digital technology and communication with clients, Saudi Home Loans continues to be a leader in the kingdom’s real estate finance sector.
Abdullatif Al Shelash says Saudi Home Loans was among the first companies to promote home finance because the culture in the region had been to save for the total price of a house or a plot of land. He reveals that at that time, there was often a period of saving to construct a house on that land.
Saudi Home Loans Fueling Future of Saudi Real Estate
Abdullatif Al Shelash explains that Saudi Home Loans debuted a fresh way of attaining the goal of owning a home.
“[Saudi Home Loans] can give you a mortgage over 15, 20, or 25 years, and you can actually go and live in your home today,” Abdullatif Al Shelash states. “So this changed the concept and the minds of people that, ‘I don’t need to wait.’”
Abdullatif Al Shelash explains that Saudi Home Loans helped many newlyweds who were still living with their parents be able to purchase their own first home.
Reportlinker.com states that residential mortgages hit a 48% increase during the first five months of 2021. Construction has also continued to be active, according to reportlinker.com, with hundreds of thousands of new housing units popping up throughout Saudi Arabia.
In addition to residential real estate, reportlinker.com says commercial real estate remains in demand for more office space in Riyadh.
An annual report to the Saudi Home Loans board of directors, of which Abdullatif Al Shelash is a part, indicates that Saudi Home Loans has continued on a growth path despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report stated that the company has continued to achieve many significant milestones including listing 30% of the company’s shares in the Saudi Stock Exchange, according to Saudi Home Loans leaders and the Saudi Central Bank.
The satisfaction of Saudi Home Loans customers seems to speak for itself. The company achieved an 80.5% customer satisfaction rate last year, as posted by saudihomeloans.com. Saudi Home Loans is also no stranger to accolades as its superb customer service landed it an award for the best home finance company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2017.
In its annual report, Saudi Home Loans remarked that its goal is to “provide its services with professionalism and high quality, by relentlessly striving to serve the country for the benefit of society and the individual.”
The report also discussed the company’s desire to “provide a variety of financing solutions that meet the needs of all our clients.”
The company’s board of directors, including Abdullatif Al Shelash, is working to keep the company and the management team focused on achieving strategic goals and objectives in accordance with the company’s vision, mission, and objectives.
Saudi Home Loans leadership says its board includes individuals who have vast experience. They come from financial and business backgrounds and have studied at universities all over the world including the University of Miami in Florida, Oxford University in England, and Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
While Saudi Home Loans doesn’t have “ninja loans” — loans offered with no proof of income, job, or assets — Abdullatif Al Shelash says they very much follow a Western model when it comes to residential loans.
“It’s very much like the U.S. [in that regard],” says Abdullatif Al Shelash.