Every summer Taif Governorate's real estate market gets a welcome boost thanks to its balmy weather and plenty of tourist attractions. Many businessmen and real estate tycoons buy and sell plots of lands and develop them for business purposes. This jacks up prices in Taif during summer, unlike other governorates. Ahmad Nasser Al-Obeikan, Chairman of the Real Estate Committee at Taif Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that “We can view this phenomenon from two sides: one is negative because the price of land increases during the summer and continues to do so even after summer due to the imbalance between supply and demand. The demand for plots of land exceeds supply, which reflects negatively on Taif people who are looking for land to construct a house. The other side is positive because this phenomenon attracts capital to Taif. Businessmen buy and sell plots of land and use some to build commercial centers or polyclinics, which bring a lot of benefits for Taif people.” Al-Obeikan denied that mostly outsiders are buying up land in the region. “Most land owners are people from Taif only,” he said. It is safe to invest in the real estate market even when there is a big drop every now and then, Al-Obeikan added. He expects a gradual drop in the market over the next few years following the Royal Decree to construct 500,000 residential units. “The 8 million-sq.-m piece of land which the Taif Mayoralty will allocate for the General Housing Authority to implement the residential units project will contribute to cutting down the value of real estate by 30 percent.” He said land will be affordable for working class people. __
