Several Saudis are increasingly becoming hesitant in buying an apartment in a high-rise building owing to some very crucial reasons – infrastructure, electricity, water, and sewer system. Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has recently allowed building owners to increase the number of floors in the building. Now buildings can even be a 10-story ones in some selected areas. But not all building owners are following the infrastructure standards in increasing the number of floors in their buildings. “We want to make sure that these apartments are prepared with all the required services that can last a longer period and are not a temporary arrangement,” Abu Shawareb, a prospective buyer, said. Jeddah municipality has drawn a list of important procedures that should be taken by building owners before increasing the number of floors. This is to ensure comfort and safety for the residents. “Increasing the number of stories will not be done randomly; building owners have to adhere to several important conditions,” said Ali Babair, General Manager of the planning and construction department in Jeddah Municipality. “Jeddah Municipality will issue licenses to building owners only when all the rules and regulations are taken care of,” he said. The important procedures include soil analysis reports to ensure the soil's ability to endure the high load, allocation of ground floor for car parking and prevent the use of ground floor for commercial shops, added Babair. In case of any violation of the last clause, Babair said, the municipality will shut down these shops immediately and impose a fine on the building owner. With an increase in the number of floors in buildings, real estate prices are bound to come down and that is certainly music to the ears of prospective buyers. “After building owners start increasing the number of floors in their buildings, prices of rents will automatically come down and that augurs well,” said Khalid Bashwaier, General Manager of Mehad Real Estate Company. “During the previous six months, prices of raw material have declined considerably. This may be another factor in reducing the prices of apartments in the coming few months,” added Bashwaier “If we compare the prices of apartments with the prices of villas, it will be easy to find out that buying an apartment is considered too easy in comparison with buying a villa,” he said. Building small apartments is one of the most prominent problems that has come up after the decision to allow increase in the number of floors in a given building. “Most of the building owners are now dividing big apartments into two smaller two-room apartments,” said Areej Ajaj, a Saudi businesswoman working in the real estate sector. This step is considered useful for foreign companies that prefer to buy small apartments for their employees during their work period in the Kingdom.”
