الإدارة العقارية والبنية التحتية

Urban Land Development Process

• Saudi Arabian cities have undergone significant urban transformations.
• Land division is a crucial initial phase in urban land development, converting raw land into urban land, bringing it into the urban land market.
• Several models exist for studying land development, summarized as follows (Healey, 1991):
  • Economic model based on demand for rents and income (Chesire and Sheppard, 1989).
  • Sequential events model focusing on land development stages as understood by real estate managers (Cadman and Austin-Grow, 1978).
  • Stakeholders model emphasizing the role of participants in the development process (Goodchild and Munton, 1985).
  • Structural model based on political economy and influencing forces in urban land development (Healey, 1992).
  • Institutional model providing a comprehensive perspective on the development process (Healey, 1992).

Land Development Stages

• Land development begins when a location is deemed suitable for division or development and concludes with the completion of construction work.
• SCET (1980) provided a framework for these stages:
  • Land Availability: Bringing undeveloped land to the market.
  • Land Improvement: Dividing land and constructing infrastructure.
  • Construction and Building.

Land Availability

• Land grants are a significant source of urban land supply.
• Municipalities plan land divisions and distribute them to citizens, ushering in the development process (SCET, 1980).
• Other land availability methods include inheritance, where land ownership transitions to heirs, and the legal reclamation of waqfs (religious endowments) allowing for ownership.
• Land entering the market can be agricultural or undeveloped. Agricultural land requires longer division durations due to needing to be rendered non-agricultural first

Land Improvement

• Land division is subject to municipal approvals aligned with urban zoning regulations.
• Infrastructure provision is primarily the responsibility of dedicated government agencies, with developers often contributing minimal or only basic improvements (e.g., road paving), which are then maintained by the municipalities.

Construction

• Construction often occurs before infrastructure completion, signifying it happens before the final stage.
• Effective coordination among stakeholders is crucial to optimize infrastructure provision and maintenance.

Stakeholders in Land Development

• Landowners (who possess potentially divisible land).
• Real estate agencies (mediators between buyers and sellers).
• Businesses (initiating construction of residential/commercial buildings).
• Government (regulating the process, providing infrastructure).
• Developers (carrying out substantial construction projects).

Landowners' Investment Strategy

• Investment strategies encompass decisions on:
  • Finances (e.g., timing of sales).
  • Implementation (e.g., dividing land or selling it as a whole).
  • Property management (during ownership periods).

Methods for Selling Land

• Selling through real estate agencies.
• Using real estate brokers.
• Auctions.
• Local newspaper advertisements.
• Direct buyer contact.
• Negotiations with real estate intermediaries may allow for a percentage of the sale price.