The closing statement of the Global PropTech Summit emphasized the importance of investing in real estate technologies, advancing the digital economy, and encouraging real estate developers to adopt advanced technologies in construction and infrastructure development. These efforts are essential to building vibrant, sustainable communities that meet the requirements of the future.
This statement came at the conclusion of the Global PropTech Summit, held in Riyadh on 27–28 October 2024, organized by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA) in strategic partnership with the National Housing Company (NHC). The summit featured 50 scientific and dialogue sessions and 40 workshops, delivered by more than 100 speakers from 80 countries. It attracted approximately 9,000 in-person attendees and was viewed by over 450,000 people via digital broadcast over the two days.
Leaders from the real estate and PropTech sectors recommended increasing awareness of real estate technologies and expanding the organization of events and activities that foster continuous engagement among stakeholders. They called for the development or adaptation of real estate legislation that aligns with the rapid technological changes occurring in the Saudi real estate sector, stressing the importance of private sector involvement in shaping such legislation. The recommendations also highlighted the need to strengthen international cooperation frameworks with organizations and companies specializing in real estate technologies, and to encourage alliances between Saudi companies and their global counterparts. These alliances aim to attract and localize technology, promote knowledge exchange, and facilitate visits in cooperation with the Saudi Chambers Union and with support from relevant government entities. Moreover, the summit stressed the need to implement initiatives that attract capital investment into real estate technology projects and to enhance the effectiveness of such investments to support the sector's growth. It also encouraged the National Housing Company to continue empowering entrepreneurs, startups, and innovative firms to drive the future of real estate technologies.
The summit further underscored its support for Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and digital economy objectives, in line with Saudi Vision 2030. It called for leveraging investment opportunities in real estate technologies across all segments of the sector—from real estate transactions to modern construction methods. Investors were urged to capitalize on the Kingdom’s substantial digital transformation and advanced digital infrastructure, which provides a robust foundation for a thriving digital economy. The future of real estate investment, both locally and globally, lies in modern technologies that support sustainable development—enhancing investment value and enabling operational efficiency in green buildings, efficient resource use, reduced energy consumption, and a shift toward renewable energy sources.
In their recommendations, real estate and PropTech leaders emphasized the importance of developing a skilled workforce specialized in real estate technologies. They called for the adoption of dedicated educational and training programs for practitioners across the real estate value chain and encouraged investment in upskilling initiatives. Universities and academic institutions were urged to launch research programs and academic chairs focused on real estate technologies, recognizing the need to develop this rapidly evolving field as a future-oriented science driving innovation in construction and development.
The summit also called for the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in the real estate sector as a key driver of rapid technological progress, innovation, and growth. These technologies directly contribute to enhanced quality, increased capabilities, operational efficiency, and improved productivity. The summit urged the establishment of national centers to support these technologies, alongside the creation of controlled testing environments regulated by the public sector, supported by flexible regulatory frameworks to foster responsible innovation. In addition, the summit recommended the adoption of national and real estate-specific indicators to monitor and evaluate real estate products developed using modern technologies. These indicators should focus on improving product quality, service accessibility, user experience, and the overall impact on beneficiaries’ lives, while tracking changes and developments in the sector.
The summit also commended REGA’s initiative, in collaboration with the National Housing Company, to launch the Saudi PropTech Hub (SPH), which includes a regulatory sandbox and a business accelerator. It encouraged further expansion of real estate technology accelerators and stronger support for innovators and entrepreneurs, aiming to increase their contribution to local content and boost the real estate sector’s share of non-oil GDP.
REGA, for its part, expressed appreciation to its strategic partner NHC, as well as to the summit’s guests, partners from government and private sectors, sponsors, experts, speakers, investors, entrepreneurs, and startups, for the valuable contributions they made to the summit and the broader real estate sector. REGA concluded by announcing the second edition of the Global PropTech Summit, scheduled for October 2025.