MULKIYA · GUIDES
The Red Sea Project and Coastal Ownership for Foreign Buyers
The Red Sea project puts homes on the Kingdom's northwestern coast. Foreign ownership there follows the designated-zone rules, and the official register decides.
What the project is
The Red Sea project is a giga project on the northwestern coast of Saudi Arabia, developed by a company of the Public Investment Fund. The project's own published materials describe a coastal destination: resorts on islands and along the mainland shore, a dedicated airport, and homes offered for sale beside the resorts. This article describes rather than sells. It prints no unit counts, no visitor targets and no completion dates, because none of those belong in a buying decision. What a foreign buyer needs is the legal frame, and the frame is the designated-zone regime.
What a foreign buyer may own inside it
The Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis, Royal Decree M/14, in force since 22-01-2026, lets a non-resident foreign individual own inside the designated zones. Council of Ministers Decision 43 of 23-06-2026 endorsed the zones, 100+ across the Kingdom. The register that accompanies the decision lists the Red Sea among the designated destinations outside the four big cities, alongside AlUla, NEOM and AMAALA. Foreign ownership inside the project therefore follows the designated-zone rules, and the buyer confirms the specific parcel on the official register before paying anything. Registration in the official real-estate registry is the validity condition of every foreign acquisition, not a later formality.
Prerequisites, and the cash-first reality
Three prerequisites stand in front of a non-resident buyer: a digital identity approved by the Ministry of Interior, obtained through a Saudi embassy; a Saudi bank account in the buyer's name; and a Saudi mobile number linked to that identity. Bank lending is structurally closed to non-residents today: the lending system has no identity field for them. Plan cash-first. Where a developer offers staged instalments on a unit, treat the plan as a payment schedule, not credit. Money you will need at a later stage should already be liquid when you sign.
Costs at purchase and on exit
The 5% real-estate transaction tax applies to the price, legally the seller's liability and commonly priced into the deal. Brokerage is capped at 2.5% plus VAT on the commission, payable only if a broker is engaged. On resale, the 2% disposal fee for non-Saudi sellers applies only in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah. The Red Sea coast sits outside those four cities, so the disposal fee there is 0%. The 5% transaction tax still applies to the resale, with the seller as the transferor.
The market, and the honest next step
The wider market is cooling: the official residential price index recorded -3.6% year on year for Q1 2026. Coastal resort property adds its own caution on top: demand is seasonal, and no licensed yield series covers the project, so underwrite from signed contracts and confirmed rents, not from projections. Mulkiya is not the seller and not the broker, and it takes no commission. The honest first step is the eligibility check: seven questions about your status and your target property, answered by a deterministic rules engine against the law.
Can a foreigner own property inside the Red Sea project?
Yes, where the parcel sits inside a designated zone. The register endorsed with Council of Ministers Decision 43 lists the Red Sea among the designated destinations outside the four big cities. Confirm the specific parcel on the official register; registration is what makes a foreign acquisition valid.
Do I pay the 2% disposal fee when I sell a Red Sea property?
No. The 2% fee on non-Saudi sellers applies only in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah. The Red Sea coast sits outside those cities, so the fee is 0% there. The 5% transaction tax still applies to the resale.
Can I take a Saudi mortgage for a Red Sea home?
Not as a non-resident today. Saudi bank lending is structurally closed to non-residents, so foreign buyers purchase cash-first. A developer's instalment plan is a payment schedule, not credit.
Do I need to live in Saudi Arabia to buy on the coast?
No. A non-resident foreign individual may own inside the designated zones once three prerequisites are in place: a digital identity, a Saudi bank account and a Saudi mobile number. Residency is not required inside the zones.