Residential rents in the Saudi city of Jeddah have soared by 30 percent, according to news reports in the kingdom.
An increase in construction and building material prices was one factor behind the soaring rents, according to an Arab News report quoting real estate experts and investors.
Factors such as steel and cement prices, as well as higher wages for contractors and workers, have all led to a rise in the cost of housing, the report noted.
It quoted Mahmoud Al-Sughayer, a citizen and a tenant in the south of Jeddah for more than 10 years, who said property owners have been hiking up rents “without considering [the] social status” of tenants.