According to a report issued by the firm on 7 October, just 22 per cent of property in the country is privately owned.

Imad Damrah, country director for Saudi Arabia at Colliers, says the mortgage law is needed to stimulate further real estate investment and meet expected future demand from the kingdom’s population, of which 65 per cent is under the age of 32.

The Riyadh Development Authority forecasts annual demand for 30,000 new residential units for the next 15 years.

Colliers' Saudi Arabia Real Estate Overview also found that speculative investment in the kingdom had driven up land prices by 35 per cent in the previous year.

There are currently a number of major mixed-use real estate projects planned or under development in the kingdom. These include a 14-square-kilometre project in Riyadh being developed by the UAE’s Limitless, and the Shams al-Riyadh mixed-use project being developed by the local Dar al-Arkan.