Wafi says over 358,000 units licensed under 496 off-plan sales licenses in 2022

Log of Off-plan Sales or Rent Program (Wafi)

The number of projects licensed by the Off-plan Sales or Rent Program (Wafi) rose by 223% in 2022, compared to 2019, to more than 358,030 real estate units through 496 licenses for off-plan sales projects, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing Secretary-General Naif Al-Sharif.

The growth rate of completed projects reached 650% last year, compared to 2019, with 3,456 housing units completed in 30 projects across the Kingdom, he added.

The Central Province topped in terms of completed projects with 1,632 real estate units, followed by the Eastern Province (1,156 units), Northern Province (491 units) and the Western Province (177 units).

Furthermore, licenses for small and medium-sized enterprises grew by about 1,200% in 2022, compared to the previous three years, with 2,509 new real estate units licensed in all cities and regions of the Kingdom, Al-Sharif said.

He pointed out the high growth rate of qualifying real estate establishments to practice off-plan sale activity.

The percentage of qualified developers reached 293%, compared to 2019, 533% for engineering offices and 303% for accounting offices.

Wafi issued more than 322 licenses to qualifying real estate developers to implement off-plan sales projects, and 163 licenses to market more than 60,120 under-construction real estate units, distributed among a number of off-plan sales projects in the Kingdom's cities and regions.

The aim is to boost the real estate supply with high-quality units at reasonable prices, said Al-Sharif.

He also stated that the total supervision visits for projects licensed by Wafi amounted to 1,073 for 2022, a growth of more than 297% from 2019.