Mortgage market of Saudi Arabia
- Discuss the following two terms: “White Land or Al Aradi Al Baydaa” and “Land Whales or hawameer al aradhi”?
Al Aradi Al Baydaa, which is an Arabic name for White Lands, is often used to describe sections of land, which are empty and un-utilized in urban areas of Saudi Arabia (Knickmeyer 2). These lands are a phenomenon since they are owned by a small group of big businesspersons, depicted in the monopoly film as insatiable dogs that violently assault young men who intrude in their lands. The owners are depicted as hawameer al aradhi” an Arabic term for land whales. These wealthy and influential Saudis have for quite some time now grabbed huge pieces of land in the surrounding area of the kingdom’s capital, part of it initially awarded by their kings to influential followers. The land whales perceive their assets as a long-term venture, to be passed to grandsons, and they are very reluctant to discharge it for development (Knickmeyer 2).
Work cited
Knickmeyer Ellen. Saudi Housing Shortage Revives “Land Whale” Debate. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2013). Retrieved from: http://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2013/04/03/saudi-housing-shortage-revives-land-whale-debate/
- Explain their effects on the Mortgage (Housing) Market of Saudi Arabia?
Hawameer al aradhi have greatly affected the Mortgage Housing Market of Saudi Arabia since the vast pieces of white lands remains idle. There is a clout of the land grabbers on one hand and the increasing numbers of average Saudis who need the land for construction on the other hand. According to studies, 70% of the lands in the cities are idle and hence threatening the social stability since the government will have no space left for growth and expansion within the country’s urban areas (Faisal 1).
Work cited
Abbas j. Faisal. Monopoly: The Saudi Short-Film Which Went a Long Way. THE WORLD POST (2011). Retrieved from: www.huffingtonpost.com/faisal-abbas/monopoly-the-saudi-shortf_b_969540.html
- What were the recommendations made by regulatory bodies and/or economic observers to combat their negative effects on the Mortgage (Housing) Market of Saudi Arabia?
One of the recommendations made by regulatory agencies and economic analysts to reduce the negative effects of land whales is to compel the landowner to develop the white lands or risk confiscation. Another recommendation is for the government to formulate a new housing policy that will charge fees on the owners of idle tracts of land. In addition, other economists suggest that, imposing taxes on proprietors of currently utilized tracts of land is the only choice to persuade them to sell or develop them (Opoku, and Abdul-Muhmin 221).
Work cited
Opoku, Robert A., and Alhassan G. Abdul-Muhmin. “Housing preferences and attribute importance among low-income consumers in Saudi Arabia.” Habitat international 34.2 (2010): 219-227.