This issue was published one day late; it was due on Thursday 22 October 2026 (11 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH).
Saudi real estate prices were +1.2% in Q3 2026 (Muharram – Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH) against a year earlier
Published by the General Authority for Statistics on 19 October 2026 (8 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH) (the Real Estate Price Index). This week’s spending is in the table below. A general indicator of price direction, not a valuation of any property.
Your region’s numbers: pick your region or compare two regions.
Value of point-of-sale payments in Saudi Arabia · week 11–17 October 2026 · 30 Rabi' al-Akhir – 6 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH
SAR 12,602.8 million
+3.2% against the same week last year (SAR 12,207.3 million).
| This week | Same week last year | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of transactions (million) | 246.4 | 222.7 | +10.6% |
| Average transaction value (SAR) = value ÷ number | 51.1 | 54.8 | −6.7% |
What this means for your decision: Spending across Saudi Arabia in the last 4 weeks was 2.7% higher than last year; sales growing more slowly than that did not move with the market, as a comparison with your city and activity shows.
The week and its counterpart last year have no Ramadan or Eid, so the year-on-year comparison is seasonally like for like.
Three points
- Against the previous week −6.8%, and over the same two weeks last year −9.0%; a usual seasonal pattern, like last year.
- 11 of 19 main activities are above last year; fastest growth Public utilities +27.7%, weakest Hotels −25.1%.
- Among the 10 largest cities, 7 are above last year; fastest Buraidah +10.9%, slowest Tabuk −3.2%.
Spending above the previous year in 45 of 52 weeks
Weekly point-of-sale payments in Saudi Arabia, 19 October 2025 – 17 October 2026 · 27 Rabi' al-Akhir 1447 – 6 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH, against the same weeks 364 days earlier. Shaded: Ramadan and the two Eids this year; their Gregorian dates differ in the previous year.
[1]What this means for your decision: The 4-week trend (above) says more than a single week.
Public utilities fastest-growing, Hotels weakest this week
Change in spending by main activity against the same week last year, %.
| Activity | SAR million | Million transactions | Average transaction (SAR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public utilities | 61.0 +27.7% | 1.0 +30.2% | 63.7 −1.9% |
| Telecommunications | 193.5 +26.4% | 5.4 +38.3% | 35.8 −8.6% |
| Groceries and food | 2,220.7 +15.9% | 59.1 +13.8% | 37.5 +1.8% |
| Professional services | 733.4 +9.3% | 15.0 +42.6% | 48.8 −23.4% |
| Restaurants and cafés | 1,646.2 +8.1% | 59.6 +7.9% | 27.6 +0.2% |
| Laundry | 50.8 +6.9% | 2.9 +3.2% | 17.5 +3.6% |
| Fuel stations | 998.2 +5.6% | 18.0 +5.1% | 55.5 +0.5% |
| Culture and recreation | 301.1 +4.1% | 4.1 −3.4% | 73.0 +7.7% |
| Clothing and accessories | 910.9 +3.4% | 8.7 +10.6% | 104.6 −6.5% |
| Transport | 921.9 +0.8% | 6.9 +26.9% | 133.0 −20.6% |
| Health | 823.3 +0.6% | 10.1 +2.3% | 81.5 −1.7% |
| Building materials | 389.4 −1.6% | 3.2 +40.2% | 121.3 −29.8% |
| Other activities | 1,901.9 −2.3% | 40.2 +5.5% | 47.4 −7.3% |
| Bakeries and sweets | 229.9 −3.7% | 6.3 −15.2% | 36.5 +13.5% |
| Furniture and home | 384.1 −5.2% | 2.6 +17.8% | 145.7 −19.5% |
| Electronics | 172.7 −5.3% | 2.1 +19.2% | 83.9 −20.5% |
| Jewellery | 357.5 −16.8% | 0.3 +21.0% | 1,070.4 −31.3% |
| Education | 83.5 −20.6% | 0.2 −16.0% | 496.8 −5.5% |
| Hotels | 223.0 −25.1% | 0.7 +0.6% | 310.6 −25.5%[1] |
What this means for your decision: In the weakest activities demand is falling across the market; in the fastest, a shop growing more slowly than its activity is losing part of its share.
Buraidah fastest-growing of the 10 largest cities
Weekly spending of the 10 largest cities, SAR million.
| City | SAR million | vs previous week | vs same week last year | Million transactions | Average transaction (SAR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Riyadh | 4,411.9 | −8.4% | +0.6% | 81.6 +9.8% | 54.1 −8.4% |
| 2. Jeddah | 1,673.4 | −7.2% | −1.2% | 27.5 +5.4% | 60.9 −6.3% |
| 3. Dammam | 639.9 | −6.4% | +3.3% | 9.9 +5.9% | 64.9 −2.5% |
| 4. Makkah | 503.3 | −6.6% | +1.5% | 9.5 +8.5% | 52.9 −6.4% |
| 5. Madinah | 495.5 | −4.5% | +3.2% | 9.3 +6.4% | 53.2 −3.0% |
| 6. Al Khobar | 350.2 | −8.5% | −0.9% | 5.0 +5.9% | 69.8 −6.4% |
| 7. Buraidah | 328.3 | −2.9% | +10.9% | 5.6 +11.2% | 58.7 −0.3% |
| 8. Taif | 266.7 | −5.3% | +5.2% | 6.1 +7.0% | 43.8 −1.7% |
| 9. Khamis Mushait | 244.7 | −5.0% | +0.1% | 4.2 +4.0% | 58.0 −3.7% |
| 10. Tabuk | 214.7 | −4.9% | −3.2% | 4.7 +2.0% | 45.4 −5.1%[2] |
After inflation, by region (estimate)
Change in the value of spending against the same week last year, before and after removing the rise in prices in the region: (1 + change) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1.
| Region | Before removing price rises | Annual inflation | After inflation (estimate) | Cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | +3.2% | +1.9% | +1.3% | all |
| Riyadh | +1.1% | +2.3% | −1.1% | 10 |
| Makkah | +0.1% | +2.1% | −1.9% | 6 |
| Eastern Province | +2.3% | +1.9% | +0.4% | 12 |
| Madinah | +2.2% | +1.5% | +0.7% | 3 |
| Qassim | +10.2% | −1.3% | +11.6% | 5 |
| Asir | +4.2% | +1.5% | +2.6% | 5 |
| Tabuk | −3.0% | +1.2% | −4.2% | 2 |
| Hail | +10.2% | +2.1% | +7.9% | 1 |
| Jazan | +2.5% | +0.6% | +1.8% | 7 |
| Najran | +6.2% | +2.0% | +4.1% | 2 |
| Al-Baha | +2.1% | +1.7% | +0.4% | 1 |
| Al-Jouf | +10.5% | +4.2% | +6.1% | 3 |
| Northern Borders | +11.9% | +3.6% | +8.0% | 3[3] |
The attribution statement in Arabic (the Arabic text governs)
مبني على بيانات الهيئة العامة للإحصاء مع تعديل ودمج وحساب من «نبض البيانات»؛ ليس إحصاءً رسميًا ولا تزكية من الهيئة.
Estimate: a monthly regional inflation rate applied to one week, and the consumer basket does not match the card-spending basket. A region = the sum of its cities published by SAMA; “other cities” count towards Saudi Arabia only.
What this means for your decision: Saudi Arabia (+3.2%) is the reference for cities: those below it had a weaker local market this week, which does not mean your shop is weaker.
Calendar of the coming weeks
Announced calendar facts only, no forecasts; salaries from the Ministry of Finance schedule.
Also present last year, so the comparison is balanced:
- 25–31 October 2026 · 14–20 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH: Government salaries on Tuesday 27 October (16 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH).
- 22–28 November 2026 · 12–18 Jumada al-Akhirah 1448 AH: Government salaries on Thursday 26 November (16 Jumada al-Akhirah 1448 AH).
Ramadan 1448 AH starts around Monday 8 February 2027 (1 Ramadan 1448 AH) by the Umm al-Qura calendar (the official start is by moon sighting), in 15 weeks.
What this means for your decision: The salary week was 20.1% higher than the average ordinary week over the last 52 weeks.
Figure of the week from outside spending
The population of the Riyadh region in the 2022 census was 8,591,748, or 26.7% of the population of Saudi Arabia, of whom 52% are Saudis. The census is carried out by GASTAT, after the 2010 census; we use it to calculate spending per person on the city pages, as population indicates the size of possible local demand.[4]
Data for 2022 as published by GASTAT. Details on the population page. Reuse terms: GASTAT data use policy.
The attribution statement in Arabic (the Arabic text governs; the English above is a summary)
المصدر: الهيئة العامة للإحصاء — التعداد العام للسكان والمساكن 2022. التنظيم والحساب من «نبض البيانات»، وليس إحصاءً رسميًا ولا تزكية من الهيئة.
Methodology
- Point-of-sale payments by card and mobile, from SAMA: 60 cities weekly, 30 activities for Saudi Arabia weekly (19 main and 11 sub-activities), and 60×30 monthly.
- Cash payments and online purchases are not included.
- City = location of the payment terminal, not where the buyer lives. Activity = the merchant’s classification at the bank.
- Figures are before removing price rises, so part of the growth is higher prices, not larger quantities.
- SAMA may revise its figures; we update earlier issues and say so here.
- All figures are published or calculated directly, except the “after inflation” column, which is an estimate.
What changed: Newsletter methodology 1.1. Added the week 11–17 October 2026 · 30 Rabi' al-Akhir – 6 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH.
