Saudi Arabia Launches the Inaugural Real Estate Excellence Award, Setting a New Benchmark for Sector Performance

Jan 30, 2026 Latest News

Saudi Arabia marked a new milestone in its real estate journey with the launch of the Real Estate Excellence Award 2025 (REA25), the Kingdom’s first dedicated platform recognizing real estate performance defined by measurable impact, governance, and long-term value.

Introduced for the first time alongside the Real Estate Future Forum 2026 in Riyadh, the inaugural REA was established to move sector recognition beyond scale and ambition toward execution, accountability, and outcomes. The Awards were designed as a benchmark rather than a ceremonial distinction, setting clear criteria for excellence across development, investment, operations, sustainability, and innovation.

The launch of REA comes at a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia’s property market, as the sector transitions from regulatory reform to delivery. With institutional frameworks increasingly in place, attention is shifting toward how projects perform over time, how capital is deployed responsibly, and how real estate contributes to economic resilience and urban quality of life.

The award brought together policymakers, regulators, developers, investors, and global real estate leaders to assess projects across a broad range of categories. These included master planning, sustainable development, facilities management, financing and funding, PropTech, and the real estate supply chain, reflecting the growing complexity and institutional maturity of the sector.

Submissions were assessed against defined criteria prioritizing governance, lifecycle value, regulatory alignment, and replicability. This approach reinforced the Awards’ role as a reference point for future development, rather than a one-time recognition.

The Real Estate Excellence Award is organized in association with FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, the world’s leading real estate federation, positioning Saudi projects within an international framework of best practice and accountability. Through this association, awarded projects gain a pathway from national recognition to global visibility, aligning local achievement with internationally recognized standards.

Commenting on the inaugural edition, Mr. Abdullah Al-Harbi, President of FIABCI-Saudi Arabia, Chairman of the Real Estate Excellence Award and CEO of the Real Estate Future Forum, said:

“The Real Estate Excellence Award was established to recognize performance, not promise. The inaugural edition set a clear benchmark for how real estate excellence should be measured in Saudi Arabia — through governance, accountability, and long-term value. As the sector matures, these standards will play an increasingly central role in building investor confidence and sustainable development.”

Across all categories, the projects recognized during the inaugural edition demonstrated a shared focus on disciplined execution and long-term impact. Whether addressing housing delivery, infrastructure readiness, operational efficiency, capital structuring, or digital enablement, the awarded projects reflected a maturing understanding of real estate as economic and social infrastructure.

By establishing a structured and transparent benchmark for excellence, REA25 underscored Saudi Arabia’s intent to institutionalize performance across its real estate ecosystem, supporting investor confidence, urban resilience, and sustainable growth.

Following the successful launch of its first edition, attention now turns to the next phase. The Real Estate Excellence Award 2026 (REA26) will build on the foundations established by the inaugural Awards, expanding participation while maintaining rigorous evaluation standards.

Applications for REA26 are now open, with submissions closing on 31 August 2026. Developers, operators, financiers, and solution providers are invited to apply with projects that demonstrate verifiable excellence and long-term value creation.

More information and application details are available at: realestateexcellenceaward.com