Guides to buying in Makkah and Madinah

Yes. Since 22 January 2026 a Muslim individual of any nationality, living in Saudi Arabia or abroad, can own property inside the designated zones of Makkah and Madinah.

A non-Saudi has seven lawful routes to a stake in Makkah or Madinah property, each suited to a different need. Buying in your own name inside a designated zone gives a title deed and is the simplest. Off-plan through Wafi spreads the payment, usufruct gives use for up to 99 years without ownership, and a Saudi company you own can hold the deed at the cost of running a company. Premium Residency adds the right to live in the Kingdom, and listed shares and licensed funds give a stake without a key.

Premium Residency has a Real Estate Owner product built around SAR 4 million of residential property. A Muslim holder can own inside the Makkah and Madinah zones under the 2026 ownership law, whose Article 5 preserves residency rights; the residency law's older "usufruct only" wording no longer states the rule. The question still open is whether the Premium Residency Center accepts a holy-city unit for the SAR 4 million threshold, which is an administrative matter.

If your budget is below the price of a unit near the Haram, or you want a stake without the work of owning one, there are three listed routes. Saudi REITs hold holy-city hotels, developers such as Jabal Omar, KEC and Umm Al Qura trade on Tadawul, and SEDCO Capital and Wahed are preparing a suite. Since February 2026 any foreign individual can open a Saudi brokerage account.

Inside the Makkah and Madinah zones, a handful of projects are selling to buyers abroad or taking registrations of interest. Each one is listed with its developer, zone, status and product, what is public about units and prices, and the official channel.

A Muslim buyer from abroad can only own inside the geographic zones the Cabinet approved on 23 June 2026. The Saudi Properties portal draws twelve of them in Makkah and ten in Madinah, and its map is the authority for any plot.

Most buyers from abroad want a home near the Haram for Umrah, family and retirement, and some want rent and resale. The rules treat the two motives differently. Short-term letting is licensed and, on the sources we have, closed to non-Saudi owners, leaving a unit empty can attract a fee, and there is little published yield data.

On top of the price, a non-Saudi buyer in Makkah and Madinah should budget for the 5% Real Estate Transaction Tax, the 2% non-Saudi ownership fee and, if a broker is involved, a 2.5% commission, which comes to about 9.5% of the price in all.

Non-resident buyers pay through a purpose-restricted Saudi bank account opened under a SAMA rule dated 1 July 2026, with every payment made electronically through the SAMA-integrated portal and, for off-plan units, into the developer's Wafi escrow account. Bank mortgages are in practice not available to non-residents, so most buyers fund in cash or on a developer instalment plan.

A non-resident Muslim buys in Makkah or Madinah in a fixed order. First a digital ID from a Saudi embassy, then a Saudi bank account and mobile number, an application on the Saudi Properties portal, a licensed listing, a reservation or contract, payment through the portal, and title in the Real Estate Registry.

A zone open to non-Saudis tells you who may buy there, and nothing about what a developer sells inside it, whether a title deed in your name or a right of use for a term of years. The residences in the Abraj Al Bait towers beside the Haram were sold on 23-year leases over endowed land, and for most projects selling today the developer's material does not say which. Ask the developer in writing, and have the answer put in the contract.

Since 1 May 2026 each real estate advertisement in Saudi Arabia has needed a REGA licence. Brokers need a FAL licence, off-plan projects need a Wafi licence with an escrow account, and non-Saudi purchases run through one official portal. You can check each of these yourself before any money moves.