Saudi Arabia launches Sakani housing platform for citizens

Sakani was launched in 2017 by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Housing as the main national platform for helping citizens find and finance a home. It brought together residential land plots, ready-built units and subsidised financing options in one place, replacing a fragmented process that often involved long waiting lists.

The programme was part of the Housing Program under Vision 2030, the kingdom's long-term plan to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil. Its central target was to raise Saudi home ownership to 70 percent of households by 2030, from roughly 47 percent when the plan was drawn up. Citizens could register online, check eligibility for state support and be matched with developers, banks and land offers.

Sakani mattered because it turned housing policy into a large, centrally managed pipeline of supply. Later releases of serviced land plots and partnerships with private developers built on this system, and it remains the channel through which much of the kingdom's affordable housing is distributed.