Abdullatif Al Shelash of Saudi Home Loans is working to give Saudis a chance at attaining the dream of home ownership faster than ever before. That's because Abdullatif Al Shelash says Saudi Home Loans is making it easier for all Saudis, including eager, first-time homebuyers, to make financing a home a reality.
With more than 18 years of experience working in financial management systems, Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash says he understands financing better than most. "Cash flow management is the key," he says.
"We were the first among the companies to promote home finance because the culture here was [that] I would save to have the full price of my house or I would save to buy a land and then I will save to build a house on that land," Abdullatif Al Shelash explains.
"We came in with a totally different concept. You don't need to do that. We can give you a mortgage over 15, 20 or 25 years, and you can actually go and live in your home today."
Abdullatif Al Shelash says this transformed the mortgage industry landscape in Saudi Arabia forever.
"This changed the concept and the minds of people that I don't need to wait," Abdullatif Al Shelash says. "This helped so many people to have their first home, get married, or some of them married people who were actually living with their parents to move into new homes."
Through Saudi Home Loans, Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash says he strives to be the ultimate real estate financing partner for those seeking to move out of their parents' homes and purchase their own first homes.
It's working: Last year, Arab News reported that mortgages in Saudi Arabia jumped by 27%.
Saudi Homes Loans Remains a Pioneer in Its Industry
The lender offers a variety of services to its clients, including off-plan financing, which features the possibility of financing up to age 75, financing and mortgage financing for up to 30 years, and the freedom to choose fixed or flexible monthly payments. There are also land financing and self-financing options. Saudihomeloans.com offers a convenient finance calculator to determine which loan options would be optimal.
The Saudi Arabian real estate sector has certainly done an about-face in recent years.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Al Arabiya news that Saudi Arabia has had a housing issue for two decades and citizens were waiting to receive a loan or a housing subsidy for nearly 15 years.
Today, Saudi Arabia's millennial population is contributing to the mortgage boom in the Kingdom, according to global real estate consultants knightfrank.com. The website reports that 56% of Saudi Arabia's population is younger than 35, and as household sizes continue to decline, this group represents a significant source of future housing demand. The website also states that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has in excess of $1 trillion in real estate and infrastructure developments in the works. That's good news for prospective Saudi buyers. Knightfrank.com reports that 60% of people who are renting would prefer to buy a property.
In addition to millennials, the acceleration of women's employment may be playing a role in first home purchases for young Saudis, according to a report by public policy think tank aei.org.
There's also the melting away of old cultural norms. Borrowing, with interest, was frowned upon in Saudi culture and laws allowing mortgages were not passed until 2012. Today, Saudi homeownership has ballooned to 60%.
Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash: This Boosted Urbanization
"Many people could not afford to think of buying a house to live in the city; they were living in the suburbs. So they moved into the city because of that ability of home loans and mortgages," Abdullatif Al Shelash says.
Abdullatif Al Shelash adds that the brand follows more of a Western approach when it comes to loans. "We don't have NINJA [no income, no job, no assets] loans, but it's very much like the U.S.," Abdullatif Al Shelash says.
Abdullatif Al Shelash is no stranger to providing total housing solutions for clients. He's the former managing director of the board of directors of Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company and has a vast background in financial management, information management systems, and real estate development.
"[Saudi Home Loans] was among the first bank and finance companies that was also providing a complete solution," Abdullatif Al Shelash says. "Dar Al Arkan was providing the apartment or the villa, and then this company was providing the financing at a time when, in 2007, the concept of home finance was still not established in Saudi. Eventually, the market caught up with the concept of home finance, and it became now a very meek industry, but when it started in 2007, it was totally new."
Back in 2007, Abdullatif Al Shelash says the World Bank was all about elevating the idea of Saudi home ownership. "The brand of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, took a share in the company, Saudi Home Loans, and they also financed the company to provide these loans," Abdullatif Al Shelash says.
Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash has been on the board of directors of the Saudi Home Loans Company since its inception in 2007. The lender went public and began trading on the Tadawul stock exchange in April.
