The monthly statistical bulletin issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) revealed significant developments in the mortgage finance sector. New residential mortgage financing provided by Saudi banks to individuals saw a sharp decline during November, reaching SAR 4.46 billion. This figure represents a substantial decrease of 55.6% compared to the same period last year, when the total financing volume reached SAR 10.064 billion.
On a monthly basis, the data showed a 19.5% decrease in mortgage financing for individuals compared to the previous month of October, indicating a slowdown in the pace of residential lending during the last quarter of the year.
Villas dominate housing loans
In terms of the breakdown of financing by property type, villas continued to dominate the market, accounting for 64.3% of total residential loans to individuals. Villa loans reached SAR 2.8 billion in November, but this figure represents a 55.8% year-on-year decrease compared to SAR 6.5 billion in the same month last year. Villa financing also declined by 21.7% month-on-month compared to October 2025.
The reality of apartment and land financing
Residential apartments came in second place, accounting for 29% of total loans, with a value of SAR 1.29 billion. This sector witnessed a year-on-year decline of 58.9% compared to SAR 3.15 billion in November 2024, and a monthly decrease of 14.9%.
As for the land sector, it came in third with an acquisition rate of 6.7%, recording financing of 297 million riyals, with an annual decrease of 27.2%, and a monthly decline of 16.8%.
Economic context and the importance of data
This data is particularly important given the close monitoring by economists and investors of the vitality of the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia, a key pillar of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which aims to increase homeownership rates among citizens. These fluctuating figures reflect current market dynamics, which may be influenced by various economic factors such as global and local interest rates (SAIBOR) and changes in supply and demand within the real estate market.
Experts point out that monitoring the volume of housing loans is a vital indicator for measuring liquidity in the real estate sector and the purchasing power of individuals, which helps real estate developers and financing entities to formulate their future strategies in line with the reality of the market.
Decrease in the number of contracts
In parallel with the decrease in the value of financing, SAMA data showed a decline in the number of mortgage contracts. The total number of contracts in November 2025 reached approximately 6,773, a significant decrease compared to the 13,142 contracts registered in November 2024. This confirms that the decline was not limited to monetary values but also included the number of new beneficiaries during this period.
