The International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) organized its 2026 Spring Symposium at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States, from April 22–24, 2026, under the theme:
“Built Environment in Action: Advancing the Role of Real Estate in the New Urban Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals, and Voluntary National Reviews.”

The symposium witnessed the participation of a high-level delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reflecting the Kingdom’s commitment to strengthening the international presence of its real estate sector and highlighting its contributions to urban development and sustainable development goals. The event also brought together a distinguished group of real estate leaders, executives, and decision-makers from around the world.

Mr. Abdullah Alharbi, FIABCI Representative to the United Nations and President of FIABCI Saudi Arabia, participated in the symposium’s discussions, where he addressed key global real estate and housing issues. Alharbi highlighted the rapid transformation of Saudi Arabia’s real estate ecosystem and the innovative approaches being implemented to address housing challenges, alongside the adoption of modern construction technologies.

Alharbi emphasized that this transformation is driven by the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to increase homeownership rates to 70% by 2030, while also strengthening real estate financing and attracting high-quality foreign investment.

He also highlighted the pivotal role played by FIABCI Saudi Arabia in supporting the development of the real estate sector and enhancing the sustainability of the urban environment, noting that the Saudi chapter achieved the number one global ranking in 2025 among all FIABCI offices worldwide, driven by its efforts in advancing professional knowledge and organizing specialized training programs.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulaiman, FIABCI member and CEO of the National Real Estate Registration Services Company “Real Estate Registry,” presented the Saudi experience in real estate title registration and its role in protecting property rights and advancing sustainable development goals.

Dr. Al-Sulaiman stated:
“Real estate is the world’s largest asset class and humanity’s primary store of wealth. Yet the sector faces a silent crisis, as millions of families around the world have lived on their land for generations without possessing a single formal title deed, preventing them from utilizing their assets for financing, investment, and formal transactions.”

He added that Sustainable Development Goal 1.4 explicitly calls for ensuring property ownership rights and legal recognition for all people. However, ten years after the adoption of these goals, reality still falls short of expectations. He explained that real estate title registration represents the true bridge toward solving this challenge by transforming land from a dormant asset into productive capital and granting every property a unique geospatial identity that unlocks financing and investment opportunities.

Dr. Al-Sulaiman further explained that Saudi Arabia has launched a comprehensive title registration ecosystem based on geospatial surveying covering more than two million square kilometers. In less than two years, this system has resulted in the registration announcement of more than 4.8 million property parcels and the issuance of over 1.6 million ownership records. These efforts directly contributed to Saudi Arabia’s advancement in the Global Real Estate Transparency Index from 49th place in 2022 to 38th place in 2024.

He concluded by emphasizing that the Saudi experience serves as a practical model proving that solving housing challenges begins with unlocking dormant assets through formal property documentation.

For her part, Ms. Reem Alharbi, Vice President of FIABCI Saudi Arabia, participated in a session titled “The Global Housing Crisis,” where she highlighted the growing role of Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector in addressing global housing challenges through innovative residential development models and sustainable solutions that enhance market attractiveness for global investment.

During the session, Reem Alharbi also discussed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to open its real estate and capital markets to foreign investors, develop scalable financing models with regional and global relevance, adopt smart and sustainable urban development concepts, and innovate within real estate financing tools — all contributing to successful experiences that can serve as models internationally.

Founded in France in 1951, the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the real estate sector, comprising approximately 1.5 million members across more than 70 countries. The federation adopts an integrated approach that combines economic, social, and environmental dimensions to support sustainable development pathways and maximize their positive impact on communities. FIABCI also works to advance the real estate sector through modern models centered on sustainability and competitiveness, with a strong focus on integrating advanced technologies such as PropTech to align with the growing opportunities within this vital industry.

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