Ali AlAhmed: Saudi Arabia's Wafi program boosts confidence in off-plan housing sales

Saudi Arabia's Wafi program boosts confidence in off-plan housing sales, Ali AlAhmed, General Manager at Building Technology, Ministry of Municipalities and Housing of Saudi Arabia, said at an event during WUF13 in Baku, Report informs.

According to him, indexing housing finance systems is a shared responsibility between the state and the private sector, but it must first and foremost begin with the national government: "One of the most successful programs launched by the national government in Saudi Arabia is the Wafi program. This is a project-based housing sale program (sale of unfinished housing). The government oversees the process, creates conditions, monitors, and provides guarantees to protect the rights of any Saudi citizen purchasing a home from the project. This means that the citizen purchases a home now and moves in 36 months after the home's completion. The entire process under this program-from opening a real estate contractor account to the completion of the home-is overseen by the government. A convenient, simplified payment process is also provided. This guarantees that the citizen will receive their home within the contractually agreed upon timeframe-three years."