JEDDAH: The decrease in the Kingdom’s real estate sector as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will see a setback of supply coming on the market this year, while landlords will also encounter co-working spaces as employees continue to accept a mixed working arrangement.
JLL predicted that corporates will remain more reliable on mixed working models during the pandemic, stating a continued hybrid of remote and office working for most employees.
The consultancy firm said that landowners may look to reprocess ongoing space and that conversion work may be necessary, with traditional offices being retrofitted into the co-working spaces, especially in places near large residential areas.
However, the JLL report was composed before last week’s statement that Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was determined to more than double its population and become one of the 10 richest cities in the world, in respect of the ambitious plans unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference held in the capital.
“We are therefore aiming to make Riyadh one of the 10 largest city economies in the world,” the crown prince said. “Today it stands at number 40, the 40th largest city economy worldwide. We also aim to increase its residents from 7.5 million today to around 15-20 million in 2030.”
Arab News also provided that 24 multinational companies had marked to build the regional headquarters in Riyadh as part of this plan.
The companies comprise heavyweights for example PepsiCo, Schlumberger, Bechtel, and Boston Scientific.
Fahd Al-Rasheed, president of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, provided that “$220 billion had already been spent or earmarked as government investment for projects in and around Riyadh, but that most of the rest of the required investment would come from the private sector.”