Saudi Arabia’s first mortgage refinancing firm “aims to raise its holdings of home-loan portfolios by 10 times this year,” Bloomberg reports, as the Kingdom’s Saudi Housing Minister said that Saudi’s first mortgage refinancing firm plans to buy more than SAR 23 billion ($6.1 billion) of mortgage portfolios from banks in 2020.
Lawmakers have amended central bank rules and gave incentives to make it easier for Saudi homebuyers to access financing.
The target reflects “huge growth in mortgage lending” as officials try to raise home ownership from 62 to 70 per cent by 2030, a goal of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic overhaul plan, according to the report.
The move amounts to a significant increase from the SAR 2.25 billion ($600 million) it held at the end of 2019.
The government has taken a slew of measures to increase home construction and lending as it works to lift one of the world’s lowest mortgage penetration rates.
