Buying Property in Saudi Arabia as a Foreigner: What the 2026 Rules Allow
Since 22 January 2026 a foreigner can own property in Saudi Arabia. That sentence is true, and on its own it will get you into trouble.
The useful question is narrower. Is the specific building you are looking at inside an approved zone? What kind of right does that zone let you hold, full ownership or a usufruct? What percentage can be foreign owned, and for how long? All three are set zone by zone rather than city by city, so two zones in the same city can carry different terms.
What follows is the process as it works in 2026: the routes in, the costs, the order of operations, and the parts that are still unsettled. Palmera works in Riyadh and Jeddah only, so that is the scope here.
What changed in January, and what did not
The Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis entered into force on 22 January 2026, and the Real Estate General Authority (REGA) opened the “Saudi Properties” platform as the official application channel (source: REGA). The Council of Ministers published the Geographic Zones Document, the approved-zone map, on 23 June 2026, and the executive regulation was approved the same day.
One structural point matters more than buyers expect. Ownership and other rights over Saudi property take effect when they are registered in the real estate registry maintained by REGA, not when the contract is signed and not when the money lands (source: Latham & Watkins). Registration of any transaction involving a non-Saudi is mandatory for validity (source: King & Spalding). Until that step is done you hold a contract, not a property.
What did not change is the default. Foreign ownership is a permission granted in named places, not a general right across the Kingdom. Buying on false information can end with the property sold at public auction, and fines reach SAR 10 million (source: Middle East Briefing).
The zone map is the deal
Riyadh has nine approved zones: King Abdullah Financial District, Diriyah Gate, New Murabba, Qiddiya, King Salman Park, the King Salman International Airport area, SEDRA, Sports Boulevard, and transit-oriented development sites along the metro. That is a portfolio of government-backed megaprojects, not the general Riyadh residential market (source: Enterprise KSA). If you were picturing a villa in an established Riyadh suburb, that is not on the table.
Jeddah is the wider list: 57 zones, Jeddah Central among them. The mix is more granular and more commercially varied, which means more genuine entry points for an international buyer.
The map does more than draw boundaries. REGA’s portal publishes interactive maps that set out, per zone, the permitted ownership percentage, the types of right that can be acquired there, the duration limits, and the regulations attached (source: REGA). Two projects can both be described as open to foreigners and still offer materially different things. Check the entry for the exact plot, never for the city.
Makkah and Madinah sit under a separate, much tighter regime, open mainly to Muslim individuals and to specific entities with Saudi participation. Palmera does not operate there.
REGA has been direct about the map’s status: a starting point rather than a final document, with no timetable given for adding zones (source: Enterprise KSA). Plan around the map as it stands. Treat any expansion as upside you did not pay for.
Three routes in, and which one is yours
Where you start depends on what you are, not on what you are buying.
| You are | How you start | What you need first |
|---|---|---|
| A resident with an Iqama | Apply directly on the Saudi Properties platform using your Iqama number | Nothing extra. Eligibility is verified automatically inside the portal |
| A non-resident individual | Start at a Saudi embassy or diplomatic representation abroad, then complete the application on the platform | A digital identity issued through that mission. Without it the portal has nothing to check you against |
| A foreign company or entity | Register with the Ministry of Investment through the Invest Saudi platform, then complete ownership electronically | The Unified Number (700), obtained before the ownership step |
The company route is slower and not automatically better. For one apartment bought by one person, the individual route is shorter.
What the purchase actually costs
| Item | Rate | Who carries it |
|---|---|---|
| Real Estate Transaction Tax (RETT) | 5% of transaction value | The seller is primarily liable to ZATCA and must pay before or during the transfer. A contract can shift the cost to the buyer, but only in writing |
| VAT on services around the deal | 15% | Whoever buys the service: brokerage, legal work, valuation. It does not apply to the transfer itself in a standard residential sale |
| Brokerage commission | 2.5% of the transaction amount by default | As agreed in writing. Palmera charges the buyer 0%, because the developer pays |
| Typical all-in closing cost | 6% to 9% | Where the buyer carries the main items |
RETT replaced the 15% VAT that used to apply to these sales (source: ZATCA). The 2.5% brokerage figure is the statutory default under Article 14 of the Real Estate Brokerage Law, and it holds unless the parties agree otherwise in writing. Article 7 of the same law is the one people skip: the brokerage contract must be in writing and a copy must be deposited with REGA, and a contract that was never deposited is unenforceable (source: REGA). Ask for proof of the deposit. A licensed broker produces it without hesitation.
The transaction, step by step
- Look the exact property up on the Saudi Properties zone map and read that zone’s terms: right type, ownership percentage, duration limit if it is not full ownership.
- Put your identity in place: Iqama, embassy-issued digital identity, or Ministry of Investment registration.
- Run diligence on title, developer track record, permits, delivery timeline, service charges, and any resale or rental conditions attached to the zone.
- Sign a written brokerage contract and confirm it has been deposited with REGA.
- Sign the purchase contract with the RETT allocation stated explicitly. Silence there is a dispute waiting to happen.
- Pay into the correct account. For off-plan that means the project escrow account, never the developer’s operating account.
- Make sure RETT is settled with ZATCA by whichever party the contract makes responsible, then register the transfer. Your right exists only once it is on the register.
Off-plan is a different risk, with its own machinery
Off-plan projects sell under the Wafi programme and require a qualified developer registration. Each project has its own escrow account, withdrawals from it are controlled by the chartered accountant, and reservation fees are capped at 5% of the unit value, with the reservation money itself going into escrow (source: REGA).
The defect mechanism in the same regulation is the part worth knowing. If the consulting firm, the buyer or a tenant identifies defects in construction or finishing, the accountant must not permit withdrawals. If the developer does not start repairs within five days of notification, REGA can use the retained funds to fix them or confiscate the bank guarantee, and it can hold that retention for a further six months from the repair order. Funds are released early only against an Insurance Authority approved latent-defects policy valid for at least a year.
The practical version: confirm the project is registered under Wafi, and confirm your payments go to the escrow account named in the contract. If either answer is vague, stop there.
If you are buying land, price in the white land tax
The levy on undeveloped plots runs at 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% or 10% of assessed value per year by priority tier. In the 2026 cycle the charge on plots over 5,000 square metres was tripled, reaching 10%, and more than 60,000 Riyadh landowners were billed under the revised rule (source: CMS). That is heavy enough to erase a land play on its own. It does not touch a finished apartment.
What is still unknown, and what to ask before you sign
Some of this nobody can answer yet, and you are better served by hearing that than by being reassured.
Take residency. Long-stay programmes exist and are being reshaped under Vision 2030, but we will not assert a link between buying a property and any particular residency outcome. If that link matters to your decision, get the position confirmed in writing for your own case before you commit.
Market data is the same story. There is no reliable published series for rental yields or price growth in the newly opened zones, for the simple reason that those zones only opened this year. Anyone quoting a precise yield on a project that has not delivered is modelling, not reporting. Ask what the number is built on.
Then there is the exit. Resale conditions and rental rules can vary by zone, and the secondary market in these projects has not been tested by a full cycle. Verify both in writing for your zone, and plan for a three to eight year hold against the catalyst calendar rather than a flip. That calendar runs from the AFC Asian Cup in 2027, where Jeddah is a host city, to the FIFA World Cup in 2034, with Expo 2030 Riyadh in between.
Before any money moves, three things must be true on paper: the exact plot appears in an approved zone on the Saudi Properties portal, the zone entry confirms the right type and ownership percentage you believe you are buying, and the contract states who pays the 5% RETT. If one is missing, the deal is not ready, whatever the brochure says.
