'We are going to sell the whole estate in stages - 800 or so to begin with,' says general manager Salman bin Saedan. 'Clearly people are in need of this land, as we have sold over 100 properties in the last three days, and we haven't even started marketing it yet.'

Bin Saedan is now preparing basic infrastructure for the estate, including water and power networks, roads and street lighting. 'It will take about eight-12 months to finish the infrastructure, but the asphalting is already finished,' says Bin Saedan.

In a strategy not commonly adopted in the kingdom, purchasers have the choice of paying a lump sum to the company, or paying a SR 3,000 ($800) down-payment followed by monthly instalments over an eight-year period. 'If they want to pay outright it will cost them a minimum of SR 60,000 [$16,000] a plot, otherwise paying in instalments will cost at least SR 80,000 [$21,333] by the end of payment,' says Bin Saedan.

Abdullah bin Saedan is one of two brothers who set up major real estate firms in Riyadh in the 1960s. Hamad M bin Saedan & Sons Group has established a number of joint ventures in the region, including the Al-Multaka al-Arabi Investment Companyin Cairo, and the Tunisian-Saudi Investment Company.