Paying for property in Makkah or Madinah

The regulations require a non-resident to obtain a digital ID, open a bank account in the Kingdom in their own name, and hold a Saudi mobile number linked to that ID before acquiring property, and to make every payment electronically through the portal integrated with the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). For a long time the open question was which bank would open that account for someone living in Birmingham or Kuala Lumpur.

SAMA answered it in its rulebook, where Rule 200.2.4, added by circular 482004268 of 1 July 2026, lets Saudi banks open accounts for non-Saudi individuals living abroad who are covered by the ownership law, on presentation of the digital ID, a passport copy, the home address and a Saudi contact number linked to the digital ID, any contract with a licensed broker or developer, and bank details plus an authenticated statement from the customer’s home bank. The rule is addressed to all banks, so we do not name individual banks as offering or refusing the account; ask the developer which banks its buyers have used.

Read the conditions before you plan around the account. It is restricted to owning real estate, only one such account may be opened remotely, no payment or credit cards are issued, joint accounts and signatories from abroad are not allowed, the customer is verified in the Kingdom including by biometric authentication, and real-estate payments run through approved channels such as the Real Estate Registry platform, Ejar, Sadad bills or a licensed broker. It is an account for buying and owning a property, and it cannot serve as an everyday account.

The portal checks the account too, since the Saudi Properties portal requires an IBAN whose account holder details match the applicant, and rejects an inactive bank account or a mismatch between the IBAN and the owner’s details. Open the account in the name on your digital ID, spelled the same way.

We give no figures here because no source publishes any. The rules do set the shape of the transfer. The account is opened on the strength of an authenticated statement from your home bank, so the funds should come from that bank and that account. The account cannot be a joint account and cannot have signatories abroad, so a spouse or parent who is contributing should send funds to you, and you pay them into the Saudi account.

Movements between your home currency and the riyal can change a budget set months ahead, and an off-plan plan spreads payments over years. Whether to fix a rate is a question for a licensed adviser. The cost calculator shows the cost stack at indicative rates, so you can see how much a swing in the rate would matter.

Applications run through the Saudi Properties portal, which REGA describes as the official platform for the law and which opened on 23 June 2026. All financial transactions for the purchase must be completed through electronic payment systems approved under Saudi Central Bank regulations before the title is transferred through the Real Estate Registry, under Article 6 of the regulations. The Real Estate Transaction Tax is also settled before the transfer: ZATCA issues the invoice at 5% of the transfer value and it must be paid before the transfer is completed at the notary, even where the parties have agreed that the buyer pays it.

Most new units in the zones are sold before completion under REGA’s Wafi programme, and Wafi is what protects your instalments. A Wafi licence requires an escrow agreement between the developer and a licensed bank in the Kingdom, and a developer that takes reservation amounts during marketing must deposit all of them into that escrow account. A developer may not receive more than 5% of the value of each unit as a reservation.

After reservation, your payments are held in the project escrow account and released to the developer according to construction progress, with disbursement depending on completion percentages assessed by the supervising engineering office. Wafi also requires the developer to disclose the current status of the project and future plans, and to use a sales agreement form with handover dates specified by day. A Saudi law firm states that the off-plan law requires developers to pay compensation for delayed handover, other than delays beyond the developer’s control, and to retain 5% of construction cost in escrow for one year after completion; we have not confirmed that summary against the law text.

Before you pay anything, check the project is on the list. REGA’s Wafi platform page carries a public list of licensed off-plan projects showing project name, developer, location, licence type and status.

Not much. The project pages of Retal’s Roya Al Haram in Masar and the Masar developers directory publish unit types but no payment-plan terms, deposits or prices, and direct buyers to the portal or the developer. ROSHN’s Almanar first-phase page likewise does not publish starting prices, payment plans or delivery dates; these come through its sales channels. Jabal Omar told the Saudi Exchange on 28 June 2026 that it will offer 400 existing hotel residential units for sale during 2026 as a first phase, with proceeds directed primarily to reducing the company’s debt, but the announcement gives no terms.

We found two published descriptions of a typical plan. A Saudi property blog states that developer plans for non-residents usually take a 10% to 20% down payment with the balance spread over construction milestones. A Saudi real estate consultancy describes the Wafi structure as a deposit of no more than 5%, a first payment of no more than 20% of the unit value, instalments tied to construction milestones confirmed by the supervising engineer, and a final payment on handover; the 20% figure rests on that one consultancy. Ask each developer for its schedule in writing and compare it with the escrow releases above.

For non-residents the position is unwelcome. Saudi bank mortgages are in practice not available to non-residents living abroad, because banks require Saudi residency and locally evidenced income; the alternatives are cash or a developer plan. Foreign residents are in a different position, though few of our readers are among them. Arab News reported on 7 January 2026 that banks’ rates for foreign residents ranged from about 4.10% to nearly 5%, with some banks requiring at least a 30% down payment and minimum monthly incomes such as SAR 19,000, a single press report we have not corroborated.

One residency point cuts the other way. For the Premium Residency Real Estate Owner product the property may not be bought with real estate financing and may not be mortgaged before or after the residency is granted. If that track is part of your plan, a financed purchase would disqualify the property anyway.

On Islamic finance from a bank in your own country, we found no source on any lender offering a Shariah-compliant product secured on a Saudi property, so we say nothing about it. The indirect routes guide covers the SEDCO Capital and Wahed Shariah-compliant suite announced on 7 September 2026, which is an investment product and cannot finance your own unit.

Do not pay a deposit outside the portal. Every payment by a non-resident must be made electronically through the SAMA-integrated portal, and all financial transactions must be completed through approved electronic systems before title moves in the Registry. A reservation should go into a Wafi escrow account, capped at 5% of the unit value, and never to an agent’s personal account or an overseas company.

Do not pay against an unlicensed advertisement. Since 1 May 2026 every real estate advertisement must display its licence number together with the advertiser’s name, REGA licence number and contact details. Anyone can verify an advertisement licence through REGA’s inquiry service by licence number, contract number or deed. If you are using a broker, check the FAL licence through REGA’s public broker inquiry service before any money moves.

Do not understate the price. The RETT base is the agreed value provided it is not below fair market value on the transaction date. Deliberately false information in an ownership application can bring a fine of up to 5% of the property value, capped at SAR 10 million, together with a court-ordered sale.

Plan to fund the whole price and the cost stack from your own money, staged over the developer’s schedule and passing through one restricted Saudi account. Get the digital ID first, because everything after it depends on it, and the step-by-step guide gives the order. Before you reserve, ask for the Wafi licence and escrow account details and the payment schedule in writing, with confirmation of whether the price includes RETT.

This is not legal advice. Rules change, and each fact above shows the date we last checked it. Speak to a licensed adviser before you commit money.