RIYADH: More Saudi citizens will have access to easy financing solutions to help them own homes thanks to the agreements signed between the Kingdom’s Real Estate Development Fund and Bank Albilad and Saudi Awwal Bank. The parties will work together to help beneficiaries of the Kingdom’s housing program, Sakani. It is a real estate initiative aimed at supporting as well as enabling Saudi citizens and families to own their first home. The program seeks to raise the proportion of housing ownership for Saudi families to 70 percent by 2030. The two new agreements will help the housing program progress one step closer toward its goal. The deals aim to diversify the housing support options for Sakani beneficiaries, one of which includes provision of up to SR150,000 ($39,999) on certain housing options such as ready-made units. The CEO of REDF, Mansour bin Madi, said the two agreements were part of strategic partnerships planned with banks and real estate financing institutions. In April, Saudi families received more support to own homes after SR933 million were deposited into their Sakani accounts. The amount was paid out by REDF in conjunction with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing. It was allocated to support various housing support contracts, according to Bin Madi. Ongoing initiatives implemented by the government, including access to finance and regulations standardizations, are reforming the Saudi housing market, according to a report released by PwC Middle East in December. Saudi Arabia’s housing demand stood at 99,600 houses in 2021 and is expected to increase by more than 50 percent to reach 153,000 houses by 2030.