EP land prices up due to fake firms

DAMMAM: About 40 percent of the real estate companies in the Eastern Province are fake. These offices are behind the rise of land prices, local business daily Al-eqtisadiah reported, quoting realtors from the region.

The realtors accused these companies of marketing imaginary projects outside inhabited areas. They asked the police, the Passport Department and the Labor Ministry to organize inspection campaigns against the irregular offices. According to them, illegal foreigners man the offices, especially in the cities of Dammam and Alkhobar. “The Eastern Province offers the lowest prices in housing, industrial and commercial real estate projects compared to other cities in the Kingdom, such as Riyadh, Jeddah and Madinah,” said Talal bin Sulaiman Al-ghunaim, chairman of Al-ghunaim Real Estate Group.

He said a number of national and international real estate companies were targeting the Eastern Province because of its cheap land. “This has encouraged fake real estate companies to come to the region and market real estate investment opportunities to gain large commissions,” he said.

Al-ghunaim said by doing so, the fake companies have contributed to increasing the price of land by more than 40 percent over the past two years. “The fake companies follow news about real estate deals in daily newspapers and TV news programs and market the land plots at exaggerated prices,” he said.