RIYADH: Real estate prices in Saudi Arabia edged up 1 percent in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest data released by the General Authority for Statistics. The GASTAT report noted that the increase in real estate prices was driven by the rise in the prices of residential properties by 1.6 percent and commercial real estate by 0.1 percent. “Given the heavy weight of the residential sector prices, it had a significant impact on the increase in this general index,” said the report. It added that the decline in the agricultural sector contributed to reducing the rate of increase in the real estate index by 0.4 percent. The report further noted that the prices of apartments increased by 2.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, while the prices of residential buildings and villas decreased by 0.9 percent and 0.3 percent respectively. In the first quarter, house prices were stable and did not record any relative change. Whereas real estate prices in the commercial sector increased by 0.1 percent, driven by the increase in the prices of commercial plots of land and commercial centers prices by 0.1 percent. The Real Estate Price Index is a statistical tool for measuring the relative change in real estate prices in Saud Arabia. It is based on a dataset of real estate transactions that are available in the Ministry of Justice, according to GASTAT. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, the general real estate index dropped by 0.1 percent affected by the decrease in the prices of the residential sector by 0.2 percent. The report added that the prices of residential buildings decreased by 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter, while the prices of villas and apartments dropped by 2 percent and 0.1 percent respectively during the same time. Earlier in March, data by the Real Estate General Authority Ejar revealed that residential and commercial rent deals almost doubled in value last year to reach SR76 billion ($20.2 billion) compared to SR41.9 billion in 2021. The report added that the total value of commercial rent transactions amounted to SR40.9 billion in 2022, while those of residential properties reached SR35.1 billion.