Reconstruction of old buildings to increase housing units by 40%

Building owners in the Kingdom’s metropolitan cities are poised to demolish their old buildings and erect new multiple-floor units that could possibly increase the number of existing housing units by more than 40 percent.

Local media quoted experts who said that this phenomenon has increased during the last five years in old districts in big cities.

The municipalities have allowed owners to add more floors in residential buildings, rents have increased and the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) is now offering credit facilities, said Jeddah-based financial adviser Faisal Sairafi.
He predicted that the demolition of old buildings for new replacements would continue for years to come with the growing demand on housing units, especially as statistics indicate that nearly 60 percent of Saudis do not own their own houses.
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