How to choose the district and the developer: a checklist before you buy

Choosing the district and choosing the developer are two separate decisions, and each has its own tools. You assess the district on the ground: existing services, the road network, infrastructure, and visits at different times of day. You assess the project and the developer against the regulations: is the project licensed for off-plan sale, does it have an escrow account, and does the advertisement that reached you carry a licence number you can check yourself. This article gives you the criteria and the steps, and leaves the comparison to you.

This content is for general awareness and does not constitute legal, financial or investment advice. Regulations, fees and rates are subject to change, and every transaction differs, so verify with the official sources (the Real Estate General Authority, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Saudi Central Bank, Sakani, Najiz) before taking any decision.

And if you are still working out what you can afford, start from the guide to first-home purchase costs and financing ratios, then come back here.

How do I assess a district by objective criteria?

Turn the impression into a list of questions with answers you can verify on the ground. And ask of every item: does it exist today, or is it promised?

• Everyday services: how far is the nearest grocery, market and mosque? And do you reach them on foot or by car?
• Education: which schools actually exist in the district or on its edges, and what stages do they cover? And how long does it take to reach them at peak time?
• Healthcare: where is the nearest health centre and the nearest hospital, and how far are they at rush hour?
• The road network: how many entrances and exits does the district have? And does it depend on a single road that chokes in the morning?
• Public transport: is there a station or a service route nearby, and how far is it from the property on foot rather than on the map?
• Municipal services: the state of the asphalt, pavements, lighting, stormwater drainage and waste collection. This is the clearest visible indicator of how mature the infrastructure is.
• The nature of the surrounding properties: what directly adjoins the property? Housing, commercial activity, workshops, vacant land? And what might be built on it?
• The announced direction of development: what has been officially announced about the area by the competent municipal authority? Rely on the published source, not on what is said in the sales room.

A district with complete services, or one under development?

The practical rule: assess the district by what exists today, and add to it only what has been officially announced and whose source you can produce. Do not build into your calculation a school that is "coming" or a shopping centre that is "in the plan" without a written source.

A completed district gives you greater certainty in services and clarity about what you are buying today; a district under development gives you fewer services and a waiting period that may not be defined in advance. Which of the two suits you depends on your family timetable and your ability to wait. And if you are comparing two districts, walk through the questions above in both of them in the same order and write the answers down — a written comparison reveals differences that memory loses.

Why should I visit the site at different times of day?

A single visit at a quiet hour gives you one picture, and it is usually the one the seller chooses. A district changes through the day, and four short visits reveal what no brochure will.

• A school-day morning: measure for yourself how long it takes to get out of the district onto the main road, and see the congestion in front of the schools and their parking.
• After sunset: observe the lighting on the internal streets, pedestrian movement, the noise level, and the availability of parking in front of the property itself.
• The weekend: uses appear that you will not see on a working day — gatherings, restaurants and events, and the traffic that comes with them.
• A rainy day if possible: nothing exposes stormwater drainage like rain. Look at where the water collects, and how long it stays.

And ask a resident of the district an open question: what do you wish you had known before you moved here? The answer to that is more useful than any marketing description.

How do I verify for myself that the project is licensed for off-plan sale?

The regulator for off-plan sale and lease is the Real Estate General Authority through the "Wafi" programme, and the enquiry is available to you directly without an intermediary.

1. Ask the marketer for the project name as registered, its licence number, and the developer's name.
2. Go to the Real Estate General Authority portal and use the "enquiry about projects licensed for off-plan sale and lease" service.
3. Match the name, the location and the developer's name against what reached you; a discrepancy in any of them is sufficient reason to stop and ask.
4. If anything is unclear, call the Authority's service centre on 199011 and do not settle for the seller's answer.

The details of the off-plan purchase track from reservation to handover are in the step-by-step guide to buying off-plan, and the programme page is at the Wafi platform for off-plan sale and lease.

What is the difference between the four licence types?

The Authority issues four types of licence, and confusing them is common. The difference that matters to you in practice comes down to one question: who is licensed to receive money from you, and who is not?

Licence type	What it means for you before you pay
Off-plan sale or lease licence	It relates to the project itself, and it is the one you check before any reservation or payment.
Marketing licence with receipt of funds	Its designation indicates authority to receive funds within what the Authority has regulated. Ask before transferring: which escrow account does my payment go to?
Marketing licence without receipt of funds	A marketing activity only, and its designation indicates that funds are not to be received. So if you are asked to pay an amount to a party holding it, stop and ask on what basis.
Real estate developer qualification	It relates to the developer rather than to a particular project, so it is no substitute for checking the licence of your project.

Which licensing requirements reveal a developer's seriousness?

The project licensing requirements are not administrative paperwork; every item in them is a protection for you, and you can ask about it by name and request what proves it.

• The escrow account: an agreement to open an escrow account with a licensed bank — an account specific to the project into which buyers' and financiers' funds are deposited, designated for spending on the licensed project only, which may not be attached for the benefit of the developer's creditors, and into which any financing obtained by the developer or the landowner must be deposited.
• Tying payments to progress: payments are released according to the engineering completion percentage and in line with the payment schedule in the contract.
• Annotation on the deed: the owner's consent to annotating the land deed against carrying out any disposal.
• An undertaking to begin construction works within 6 months: ask when the licence was issued, and whether work has actually begun on the ground.
• A sale contract template with delivery dates specified to the day: "the end of the year" is not a delivery date. Ask to see the delivery clause with its date in the template.
• Professional oversight: a contract with a certified accountant, a feasibility study from a consultancy, approved designs and drawings, and the unit subdivision record.
• The developer's records: a valid commercial registration, a credit record, and the property's title deed.

And where the project's property is under title registration, all contracts and disposals must be documented in the "off-plan sale register" at the real estate register. Ask about this specifically.

How do I read a property advertisement and verify its licence?

The regulatory rules for real estate marketing and advertising were issued by Authority decision no. (2/35/M/26), published in Umm Al-Qura on 1 May 2026 and effective from the date of publication. They distinguish between two things many people confuse: the FAL licence, which is mandatory for practising the activity, and the advertisement licence, which is separate and independent from it, is issued for each property, and without which an advertisement may not be published.

These are the eight items that must appear in any property advertisement — a checklist in your hands:

1. The real or personal rights being advertised.
2. A description of the property, its condition, particulars and location, insofar as these affect its value or the decision of the person targeted by the advertisement.
3. The services and rights attached to the property, including any existing disputes concerning it.
4. A contact method matching the details provided when the licence was applied for.
5. The name of the advertiser.
6. Prominent display of the advertisement licence number.
7. The expiry date of the advertisement licence.
8. The activity practice licence number (FAL number).

As an alternative to displaying them in full, it is accepted to show only the advertisement licence number together with a QR code giving access to them. This applies to social media, visual, audio and written media, electronic platforms, exhibitions and events, and billboards. The advertisement must be removed as soon as its purpose ends or its licence expires, whichever comes first.

To verify for yourself, use the "enquiry about a real estate advertisement licence" service on the Real Estate General Authority portal, searching by advertisement licence number, brokerage contract number, or title document number. And to verify the real estate broker themselves, use the broker enquiry service.

Which signs call for stopping and asking?

Do not assume bad faith in anyone. Ask a specific question and request an answer you can verify from an independent source; and if no clear answer reaches you, delay is cheaper than a transfer.

• A request to pay outside official channels or into a personal account. The question: what is the escrow account for this project, and to whom does it belong?
• An advertisement with no advertisement licence number and no QR code. The question: what is this advertisement's licence number and its expiry date? Then check it yourself.
• A property you cannot find in the Authority's enquiry despite it being marketed as off-plan. The question: under what name and licence number was the project registered?
• Vagueness about the delivery date. The question: show me the delivery clause in the contract template with its date specified to the day.
• Brushing aside the question of disputes. Existing disputes over the property are among the items the regulations require to be stated in the advertisement, so asking about them is your right.
• Brokerage without a written contract. The brokerage contract must be in writing, the broker must file a copy with the Authority, and it cannot be relied upon otherwise; its term, if not agreed, is 90 days from conclusion. The regulated commission is 2.5% of the transaction value unless the two parties agree otherwise in writing — as at the date of this article (28 July 2026).
• Time pressure on the decision. "The last unit today" is not a piece of information you can verify. Ask for what can be verified, and decide after it.

RYLIST Global's role

The exhausting part here is not the reading but the doing: matching the project name against the Authority's register, reading the contract template by its clauses rather than its headings, arranging site visits at different times instead of one coordinated visit, and gathering the answers in writing before any payment. It is work that takes time and repetition, and we do it daily as a licensed party.

Browse the available projects if you want a starting point, or begin with your questions to Fahem, the real estate advisor. We will walk you through the same checklist and bring what can be verified — and the decision remains yours.