RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Price Index increased by 1.5 percent in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by an increase in residential properties, the latest data from General Authority for Statistics revealed. While residential real estate prices increased by 2.5 percent fueled by a 2.6 percent rise in land plot prices, other sub-sectors such as commercial and agricultural real estate saw a marginal fall in the prices, resulting in a dampening effect on the general index. According to the GASTAT report, commercial and agricultural real estate prices recorded a fall of 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent respectively. The report noted that the prices of villas increased by 0.2 percent, while apartments rose by 1 percent. On the other hand, house prices decreased by 0.7 percent, while the prices of residential buildings were stable and did not record any significant relative change, GASTAT added in the report. The report further said that the drop in commercial real estate prices happened due to a fall in commercial land plots prices by 0.4 percent. Agricultural real estate prices also decreased due to the drop of 0.6 percent in agricultural land prices. On a quarterly basis, the General Real Estate Price Index rose 0.3 percent in the third quarter of this year, showed the report. This growth was backed by a 0.4 increase in residential real estate prices as land plots prices rose. The report added that apartment prices also saw an increase of 0.9 percent in the third quarter of 2022, and commercial real estate prices saw a modest 0.2 percent increase as commercial plots and centers increased. Conversely, villa and house prices fell by 1.5 and 0.3 percent respectively last quarter while residential buildings remained steady. The report further documented a fall in the prices of exhibitions by 0.1 percent whereas commercial buildings stood firm. Additionally, the agricultural sector did not show any notable change in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the second.