Baku: Saudi Arabia has shifted its focus from negotiating prices for 1,000 homes to negotiating for 1 million homes, according to Ali Al-Ahmad, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Municipalities and Housing. This announcement was made during a session titled 'A New Deal for Housing Finance' at the WUF13 conference.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, Al-Ahmad emphasized that recent discussions in Baku have shown a unified approach to housing policy. The housing policy in Saudi Arabia starts with land and extends through a value chain involving infrastructure, projects, construction companies, beneficiaries, and services aimed at improving quality of life.

Al-Ahmad explained that Saudi Arabia addresses housing issues by analyzing demand and supply. Citizens earning a monthly income of 4,000 riyals, or about 1,000 US dollars, qualify for preferential housing programs, supported by the government and local banks through subsidized loan packages.

More than 13 banks in Saudi Arabia offer preferential real estate loans. Over the past five years, the total volume of these loans has grown from 400 billion riyals to around 1 trillion riyals. The government supports home buyers by subsidizing loan interest rates or providing non-refundable financial assistance ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 riyals.

A separate 'Development Housing' program is available for citizens without income, benefiting over 200,000 families. Of these, 109,000 homes were constructed by the ministry, while the rest were acquired from the private sector.

To further reduce housing costs, a centralized procurement platform named 'SupplyPro' has been established. The platform aims to negotiate with manufacturers for 1 million homes, ensuring better prices, protecting the supply chain, and ultimately lowering the final cost of housing.