RIYADH: Aiming to boost Saudi Arabia’s housing market, the Kingdom’s Real Estate Development Fund inked finance agreements worth SR13.7 billion ($3.64 billion) in the first quarter of 2023. The deals sought to offer housing benefits to 21,000 citizens during the first quarter, according to the National Development Fund’s quarterly report. Such agreements are in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy that aims to provide adequate and affordable housing opportunities for Saudi families. The fund also deposited over SR2.7 billion into the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries during the first quarter of 2023, the report said. The Sakani program was launched in 2017 by REDF to facilitate home ownership in the Kingdom by developing new housing stock, allocating plots and homes to nationals and financing their purchase. Furthermore, the fund’s real estate advisor service recorded over 36,000 recommendations for housing and financing during the first quarter, in addition to approximately 53,000 new beneficiaries, showed the report. Saudi Arabia’s NDF provided over SR30 billion funding support in the first quarter of 2023, according to the report. The funding was allocated through a number of cooperation agreements and financing support for various economic sectors with an aim to achieve the social, economic and cultural goals envisioned in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. This comes after the fund approved over SR135 billion in financing support for 2022, its annual report released in January showed. Additionally, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund approved financing agreements valued at SR875 million with 24 businesses to support the objectives of the National Strategy for Industry. Various achievements, agreements and new initiatives that helped in maximizing the developmental impact on the Saudi economy were also highlighted in the report. In May, the Kingdom’s housing market got a fresh stream of liquidity, with Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. announcing SR3.5 billion in sukuk issuances. The latest issuance of SRC, owned by the Public Investment Fund, marked the sixth tranche under its upsized SR20 billion sukuk program. The real estate finance company will keep boosting market liquidity and assisting lenders and investors, which will stabilize the Saudi mortgage market, stated SRC CEO Fabrice Susini. Furthermore, this move will also speed up the rise of homeownership in the country, he added. “The positive response from investors to SRC’s latest sukuk issuance is a clear testament to the strength of the Kingdom’s housing market and economy,” Susini said.