Registered land and home prices eased in Q2 2026, led by Riyadh; rents held steady
2026-09-26 · Bassel Koshak
Registered sale prices fell in the second quarter of 2026. The Darak Property Index for land plots eased 3.1% to 123.1 (second quarter of 2023 = 100) across 19,665 sales, and the index for apartments and floors, published for the first time, fell 1.6% to 101.8 across 8,933 sales. Riyadh led the decline, with land down 4.5% to 128.3 and homes down 3.4% to 106.1. Both series cover every sale registered by Ministry of Justice notaries and by the Real Estate Registry, as published on REGA's Real Estate Indicators, so Riyadh is included before and after its sales moved to the Registry. Registered apartment rents on Ejar averaged SAR 22,928 a year in the first quarter, 0.28% below the previous quarter, across 517,928 contracts. The median asking rent for apartments on Darak's listing panel was SAR 38,309 a year in August, up 0.02% on July. Registered rents are means of signed contracts and lag the market by about two quarters; asking rents are medians of advertised prices, so the two should not be compared as levels.
Apartments and floors
| Period | Value | Deals |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | 101.8 index (2023 Q2 = 100) | 8,933 |
| 2026 Q1 |
Land
| Period | Value | Deals |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | 123.1 index (2023 Q2 = 100) | 19,665 |
| 2026 Q1 | 127.0 |
Asking rent
| Period | Value | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 38,309 SAR/year | 81,764 |
| Jul 2026 | 38,301 SAR/year | 77,441 |
| Jun 2026 | 38,134 SAR/year | 71,272 |
| May 2026 | 38,892 SAR/year | 66,777 |
Contracted rent
| Period | Value | Contracts |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q1 | 22,928 SAR/year | 517,928 |
| 2025 Q4 | 22,992 SAR/year | 566,631 |
| 2025 Q3 | 23,352 SAR/year | 515,117 |
| 2025 Q2 | 22,792 SAR/year | 418,150 |
| 2025 Q1 |
How to read these figures
- Contracted rents are means of registered Ejar contracts as published by REGA, not medians.
- Asking rents are Darak's own listing panel and begin in March 2026; they lead contracted rents, which lag by roughly two quarters.
- Registered sale prices come from REGA Real Estate Indicators (MOJ + Real Estate Registry): every sale deal registered by Ministry of Justice notaries and by the Real Estate Registry. Riyadh is included in every period, before and after its sales moved to the Registry (district by district from 2024, wholly from 19 May 2026). Each neighbourhood is compared with itself within the same register, so that move does not read as a price change. Deals covering several properties, and bulk registrations (20 or more deals in one district on one day), are excluded. City series are published only where the index rests on at least 500 deals every quarter and is stable; every city counts in the national series.
- Registered land prices cover land plots of 100 to 10,000 sqm, not built homes. Agricultural land and land described as commercial are excluded; the source does not classify the remaining plots as residential or commercial, and about 90% of those that can be matched to the Ministry of Justice open data (2024-2026) are residential. A notary deed that calls a property a plot may still carry a building.
- Registered home prices cover apartments and floors, per sqm of the unit's own deed area. Villas and houses are excluded because their deed area is the plot, not the built area.
Cite this
Bassel Koshak, "Registered land and home prices eased in Q2 2026, led by Riyadh; rents held steady", Kite, 2026, https://kite.sa/en/market/releases/2026-08