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Quick answerPublished villa rates, checked 25 October 2026Shell, finishing and turnkey are different contractsWorked example: 300 m² and 400 m² of built-up areaRiyadh, Jeddah and DammamA city average in dollars is not a villa rateCompare one scope, then the quantitiesQuick answer
As of 25 October 2026, published sources put a Riyadh villa shell at SAR 500–750 per m² (مكتب العضيب للاستشارات الهندسية, 15 July 2026) and at SAR 550–750 per m² with materials (مؤسسة بوادر الاحتراف, 13 July 2026), and a Jeddah shell with materials at SAR 1,000–1,400 per m² (إتقان للمقاولات, 5 August 2026). Finishing-only and turnkey are other rows, and the pages do not agree. Cost = built-up area in m² × one named SAR rate + extras that row leaves out.
Published villa rates, checked 25 October 2026
No page opened for this guide prints one Saudi villa rate. مكتب العضيب للاستشارات الهندسية, the Riyadh office at aso-eng.com, dated its article 15 July 2026 and calls the figures estimates. It puts usual shell construction at SAR 500–750 per m² for a medium residential project, build-with-medium-finish from SAR 1,500 to SAR 2,500 or more per m², and turnkey usually at SAR 1,600–3,200 per m². A later sentence on the same page says turnkey is SAR 1,500–3,200 per m². Both pairs stay. The article also says an economic build starts from about SAR 1,350 per m² and a luxury villa may exceed SAR 3,800 per m². Those two are not closed bands, so they are not multiplied in the example below.
مؤسسة بوادر الاحتراف, on bawadershade.com, dated 13 July 2026, prints a Riyadh table it calls standard market indicators: shell labour only SAR 130–180 per m², shell with materials SAR 550–750 per m², finishing only SAR 800–1,300 per m², and VIP turnkey SAR 1,400–2,200 per m². The firm’s homepage describes shades, metalwork and villa construction, and one project caption names شركة دروع بلاس. The riyals are the table as printed. إتقان للمقاولات, which presents itself as a Jeddah contractor at itqanbuild.com, published on 5 August 2026: Jeddah shell with materials SAR 1,000–1,400 per m², medium turnkey SAR 1,400–2,000, luxury turnkey SAR 2,000–3,000, and VIP turnkey SAR 3,000–5,000. That page has no finishing-only row. منصة مقاولة at mqawla.com, read the same day, labels its national figures indicative and not live prices, and it prints two shell averages, about SAR 540 and about SAR 520 per m², beside a shell-with-materials range of SAR 390–700. A page that called its own bands planning scenarios rather than documented market rates was opened and not copied. The other GCC construction guides stay on quantities unless they name a price.
| What the page printed | SAR per m² | Source and limit |
|---|---|---|
| Riyadh shell, medium residential | 500–750 | aso-eng.com, 15 July 2026. Called an estimate. Not labelled with or without materials. |
| Riyadh build with medium finish | 1,500–2,500 or more | Same aso-eng.com article. Not a finishing-only contract. |
| Riyadh turnkey, opening and area table | 1,600–3,200 | aso-eng.com. A later sentence on that page says 1,500–3,200. |
| Riyadh shell, labour only | 130–180 | بوادر الاحتراف, 13 July 2026. Materials stay with the owner. |
| Riyadh shell with materials | 550–750 | Same Bawader table. Ready-mix, SABIC or Al Rajhi steel, and insulated block, as printed. |
| Riyadh finishing only, medium to luxury | 800–1,300 | Same Bawader table. Not added to the shell row. |
| Riyadh VIP turnkey | 1,400–2,200 | Same Bawader table. Not the sum of shell and finishing. |
| Jeddah shell with materials | 1,000–1,400 | إتقان للمقاولات, 5 August 2026. Excavation, foundations, frame, blockwork and roofs. No finishes. |
| Jeddah medium turnkey | 1,400–2,000 | Itqan. Shell, economic or good finish, electrical, plumbing and split AC, as printed. |
| Jeddah luxury turnkey | 2,000–3,000 | Itqan. Marble, kitchens, central AC and stone façades, as printed. |
| Jeddah VIP turnkey | 3,000–5,000 | Itqan. Hotel-level finish, smart home, lifts and interior design, as printed. |
| Jeddah single rate inside the medium band | 1,600 | Itqan multiplies 300 m² and 400 m² by this rate. It is not a new survey. |
| National shell with materials, indicative | 390–700 | منصة مقاولة. Also prints averages of about 520 and about 540. Not a live price. No date on the figure. |
| National shell, labour only | 120–150 | منصة مقاولة. Indicative. Not averaged with the Riyadh 130–180 row. |
| National finishing only, indicative | about 758 | منصة مقاولة. Bands on the same page: about 400–700, 700–1,300, 1,400–2,500, and palaces above 2,800. |
| National turnkey, indicative | about 1,180 | منصة مقاولة. Range 950–3,500, with marks of about 920, 1,150, 1,670, 2,240, and palaces above 3,000. |
Shell, finishing and turnkey are different contracts
عظم on these pages is the structure: excavation, foundations, concrete frame, blockwork and roofs, without finishes. بوادر الاحتراف splits that into labour only (SAR 130–180 per m², materials by the owner) and shell with materials (SAR 550–750). منصة مقاولة prints the same split at SAR 120–150 and SAR 390–700, and it says the shell average is about SAR 520 in one answer and about SAR 540 in another. aso-eng.com says SAR 500–750 for shell and does not say whether materials are included. إتقان says Jeddah shell with materials is SAR 1,000–1,400 and lists excavation, foundations, the concrete frame, blockwork and roofs. Those four shell readings are the readings. This page does not pick a midpoint.
تشطيب فقط is a later contract on a shell that already exists. بوادر الاحتراف prices it at SAR 800–1,300 per m² for medium-to-luxury materials, naming plaster, Qabbani plumbing, Al-Fanar electrical, porcelain, Jotun paint and gypsum board. منصة مقاولة prices finishing only at about SAR 758 per m² on average, with bands of about SAR 400–700, 700–1,300, 1,400–2,500, and palaces above 2,800, and it says a separate finishing contract is usually a little higher than the finishing share inside turnkey. It does not print that gap as a second number. إتقان does not publish a finishing-only rate, so none is invented. aso-eng.com’s SAR 1,500–2,500 is headed “build with finishing”, and its area table column is “medium finish”, not finishing only. Turnkey, تسليم مفتاح, is the whole job those pages describe. Adding a shell row to a finishing row would invent a turnkey rate. The printed turnkey rows are used instead. The Qatar comparison, in Qatari riyals, is the villa construction cost in Qatar. Dirham rates, where a page was opened, are in villa construction cost in the UAE.
Worked example: 300 m² and 400 m² of built-up area
Cost = built-up area in m² × one SAR rate from the table above + extras that rate leaves out. Built-up area here is the measured floor area the contract counts, not the plot. A 300 m² ground floor is not a 150 m² footprint counted twice, and a 400 m² total across two floors is not a 400 m² plot. aso-eng.com already prints the 300 m² and 400 m² totals for its shell, medium-finish and turnkey columns, and those totals equal the area times SAR 500–750, 1,500–2,500 and 1,600–3,200. إتقان already prints 300 × 1,600 = SAR 480,000 and 400 × 1,600 = SAR 640,000 for the building only, at a rate inside its SAR 1,400–2,000 medium band. The other lines below are the same multiplication of a printed band. They are not a second quotation.
Blank extras stay blank. إتقان marks boundary walls, government fees and meters as estimates (تقديري) of SAR 40,000–70,000 and SAR 30,000–45,000 depending on the villa, and this guide does not copy those riyals into the table. A basement, pool, lift or boundary wall is its own line in the villa stage budget. Land, design fees, permits and VAT are outside every rate above unless the written offer says they are inside. The same offer should say whether the area includes stairs, balconies and roof rooms.
| Printed row | SAR per m² | 300 m² | 400 m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bawader, Riyadh, shell labour only | 130–180 | 39,000–54,000 | 52,000–72,000 |
| Bawader, Riyadh, shell with materials | 550–750 | 165,000–225,000 | 220,000–300,000 |
| Bawader, Riyadh, finishing only | 800–1,300 | 240,000–390,000 | 320,000–520,000 |
| Bawader, Riyadh, VIP turnkey | 1,400–2,200 | 420,000–660,000 | 560,000–880,000 |
| aso-eng.com, Riyadh, shell | 500–750 | 150,000–225,000 | 200,000–300,000 |
| aso-eng.com, Riyadh, build with medium finish | 1,500–2,500 | 450,000–750,000 | 600,000–1,000,000 |
| aso-eng.com, Riyadh, turnkey table | 1,600–3,200 | 480,000–960,000 | 640,000–1,280,000 |
| Itqan, Jeddah, shell with materials | 1,000–1,400 | 300,000–420,000 | 400,000–560,000 |
| Itqan, Jeddah, medium turnkey | 1,400–2,000 | 420,000–600,000 | 560,000–800,000 |
| Itqan, Jeddah, the page’s 1,600 example | 1,600 | 480,000 | 640,000 |
| Itqan, Jeddah, luxury turnkey | 2,000–3,000 | 600,000–900,000 | 800,000–1,200,000 |
| Itqan, Jeddah, VIP turnkey | 3,000–5,000 | 900,000–1,500,000 | 1,200,000–2,000,000 |
Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam
A city difference is stated only where a page states it. The Riyadh shell figures above are SAR 500–750 and SAR 550–750 with materials. The Jeddah shell-with-materials figure is SAR 1,000–1,400. That is a disagreement between pages, not a measured premium this guide calculated. إتقان says north Jeddah and Obhur cost 5–7% more because of saline soil and the concrete and waterproofing that implies. The percentage is theirs. This page does not turn it into a new riyal rate. aso-eng.com says the district inside Riyadh changes the cost and does not print a second Riyadh rate, so none is added. No Dammam contractor page with a riyal-per-square-metre villa rate was opened.
منصة مقاولة does print a city table. The column header says average finishing cost per metre. The footnote says the figures are estimates for medium-finish turnkey, including materials and labour. Both labels stay, because choosing one would hide the clash. Under that column the page prints Riyadh SAR 1,000–1,400, Jeddah SAR 1,050–1,500, and Dammam/Khobar SAR 1,000–1,450 per m². Those cells are not used as the shell rates above, and they are not used as a finishing-only rate. A Dammam villa price still needs a written offer for that plot. Block counts that sit under the shell are in blocks per square metre.
A city average in dollars is not a villa rate
Turner & Townsend’s Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Market Intelligence 2025 page says Riyadh’s average construction cost is US$3,112 per m², up from the 2024 average of US$2,593 per m². The Global Construction Market Intelligence 2026 Middle East page says the average price to build in Riyadh is US$2,874.0 per m², and that the data were collected before the conflict in the Gulf. Both pages were checked on 25 October 2026. They are city averages, not a G+1 villa with a named finish. The dollars are not converted to riyals, because neither page prints the exchange rate used for a villa. The two dollar figures are not averaged. The 2025 page also prints a SAR asset-type table, including high-rise apartments, under the heading “2025 Cost (SAR)” without the words “per m²”, so those cells are not copied. It lists 30 MPa concrete at SAR 290 per m³ for a 1,500 m³ job, supply only. That is a material rate, not a villa rate, and it is not added to the examples.
The General Authority for Statistics construction cost index for September 2026 rose 2.2% from September 2025. The residential sector rose 2.1% and the non-residential sector rose 2.6%. The index was unchanged from August 2026. Inside the residential rise, basic materials were up 1.7%, which the release ties to timber and joinery up 3.5%, equipment rental up 4.1%, labour up 1.5% and energy up 3.0%. The index tracks 51 input items from 13 regions, with 2023 as the base year. It does not publish a contractor’s riyal price per square metre of villa. Preliminary percentages on the Turner & Townsend 2025 page are for commercial projects of 2,500 m² and 50,000 m², so they are not applied to the 300 m² or 400 m² villa lines.
Compare one scope, then the quantities
Send each bidder the same drawings, the same built-up area and the same list of what is outside the rate. Ask for shell, finishing and turnkey as separate written offers if you want those rows to be comparable. Record the quote date, validity, tax, provisional sums and exclusions. After the stages in the budget are filled, riyals per m² = entered total ÷ built-up area. If the measured area changes, change the quantities as well. Dividing an old total by a new area hides the change. A 5% or 10% contingency is not printed on the price pages used above, so this guide does not add one.
Price a stage after its quantity exists. Reinforcement mass by element is in rebar kilograms per cubic metre. Dated rebar prices per ton in riyals are in rebar price per ton in Saudi Arabia. A dated Qatar ready-mix comparison, in Qatari riyals, is in concrete price per m³ in Qatar. Saudi ready-mix rates in riyals are in concrete price per m³ in Saudi Arabia. Neither page is a Saudi villa rate. Dated block prices in riyals are in concrete block price in Saudi Arabia. A dated gypsum false-ceiling comparison in riyals per square metre is in gypsum false ceiling cost per m² in Saudi Arabia. A dated interlock comparison in riyals per square metre is in interlock paving cost per m² in Saudi Arabia. The GCC construction guides collect the quantity pages. The budget on this page opens in Saudi riyals. Changing the currency label does not convert a figure you already typed. The Qatar and UAE cells beside these riyals, only where a source was opened, are in GCC construction cost per m² 2026.
Your editable villa stage budget
Enter dated contractor quotes. Blank amounts are unpriced. Use zero only for a confirmed exclusion or a quoted zero-cost line and explain it in the note. Changing currency relabels your entries; it does not convert them.
| Stage | Quoted SAR | Quote date / scope note |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminaries and site setup | ||
| Foundations and groundworks | ||
| Concrete structure | ||
| Blockwork and plaster | ||
| MEP and air conditioning | ||
| Internal and external finishes | ||
| External works | ||
| Design, approvals and connections |
- Entered subtotal
- SAR 0.00
- Chosen contingency
- SAR 0.00
- Partial total + contingency
- SAR 0.00
- Partial cost per m²
- SAR 0.00/m²
This is an incomplete budget until the remaining 8 stages have quotes or documented exclusions.
Questions people ask
What is the villa construction cost per m² in Saudi Arabia in 2026?
As of 25 October 2026, published sources do not share one rate. Riyadh shell is SAR 500–750 per m² on aso-eng.com and SAR 550–750 per m² with materials on بوادر الاحتراف. Jeddah shell with materials is SAR 1,000–1,400 per m² on إتقان للمقاولات. Turnkey on those pages runs from SAR 1,400–2,200 in the Riyadh VIP row to SAR 1,600–3,200 and SAR 1,400–5,000 on the other two. The rows are not averaged.
What is the cost per m² for shell (عظم) versus finishing (تشطيب) versus turnkey?
Shell with materials is SAR 550–750 per m² in the Riyadh Bawader table, SAR 500–750 on the Riyadh engineering page, SAR 1,000–1,400 in the Jeddah Itqan table, and SAR 390–700 on the indicative Mqawla page. Finishing only is SAR 800–1,300 at Bawader and about SAR 400–2,500 by level at Mqawla. Itqan does not publish finishing only. Turnkey is a separate printed row, not the sum of shell and finishing.
How much does a 300 m² or 400 m² villa cost to build in Saudi Arabia?
Multiply one named rate by the built-up area. At the printed Riyadh shell-with-materials band, 300 m² is SAR 165,000–225,000 and 400 m² is SAR 220,000–300,000. At Itqan’s Jeddah rate of SAR 1,600, which that page uses, 300 m² is SAR 480,000 and 400 m² is SAR 640,000 for the building only. Other rows are in the table. Extras are not included.
Is the villa rate the same in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam?
No single rate was opened for all three. Riyadh shell pages print SAR 500–750 and SAR 550–750 per m². The Jeddah contractor page prints shell with materials at SAR 1,000–1,400. No Dammam contractor rate per m² was opened. Mqawla’s city column prints Riyadh 1,000–1,400, Jeddah 1,050–1,500 and Dammam/Khobar 1,000–1,450, while its header and footnote disagree on whether that column is finishing or medium turnkey.
Does the GASTAT construction cost index give a riyal price per square metre?
No. The September 2026 release says the index rose 2.2% from September 2025, with residential costs up 2.1%. It measures 51 input items against a 2023 base. It does not state a SAR per m² villa price. Turner & Townsend’s Riyadh averages of US$3,112, US$2,593 and US$2,874.0 per m² are city averages in dollars, not a villa finish rate.
Sources and calculation basis
Source links support the points named beside them. Worked quantities are Construclytic calculations using the assumptions shown above. A price in a table is the figure that source printed on the date it was read. It is not a quotation for your site, and it does not replace the project specification.
- مؤسسة بوادر الاحتراف: villa shell and finishing prices in Riyadh, 2026Opened 25 October 2026. Page date 13 July 2026. Riyadh table: shell labour only SAR 130–180 per m²; shell with materials SAR 550–750; finishing only SAR 800–1,300; VIP turnkey SAR 1,400–2,200. The page calls these standard market indicators. The firm’s homepage also describes shade and metalwork, and one project caption names شركة دروع بلاس. Rows are not added together.
- مكتب العضيب للاستشارات الهندسية: villa construction cost in Riyadh, 2026Opened 25 October 2026. Article dated 15 July 2026. Estimates. Shell SAR 500–750 per m². Build with medium finish SAR 1,500–2,500 or more. Turnkey usually SAR 1,600–3,200, and a later sentence says SAR 1,500–3,200. Economic from about SAR 1,350. Luxury may exceed SAR 3,800. The area table prints 300 m² shell SAR 150,000–225,000, medium finish SAR 450,000–750,000 and turnkey SAR 480,000–960,000, and 400 m² at SAR 200,000–300,000, 600,000–1,000,000 and 640,000–1,280,000. The office name is on aso-eng.com.
- إتقان للمقاولات: villa construction cost per metre in Jeddah, 2026Opened 25 October 2026. Published 5 August 2026. Jeddah. Shell with materials SAR 1,000–1,400 per m². Medium turnkey SAR 1,400–2,000. Luxury turnkey SAR 2,000–3,000. VIP SAR 3,000–5,000. The page multiplies 300 m² and 400 m² by SAR 1,600 to get SAR 480,000 and SAR 640,000 for the building. No finishing-only rate. North Jeddah and Obhur are stated as 5–7% higher. Estimated extras are not copied. The page gives a Jeddah address and phone.
- منصة مقاولة: Saudi construction, shell, finishing and turnkey calculatorOpened 25 October 2026. The page says the figures are fixed indicative national averages, not live prices, and it prints no date on them. Shell with materials SAR 390–700 per m², with averages of about 520 and about 540. Labour only SAR 120–150. Finishing only about SAR 758, with bands of about 400–700, 700–1,300, 1,400–2,500 and palaces above 2,800. Turnkey about SAR 1,180, range 950–3,500, with marks of about 920, 1,150, 1,670, 2,240 and palaces above 3,000. City column: Riyadh 1,000–1,400, Jeddah 1,050–1,500, Dammam/Khobar 1,000–1,450. Header says finishing. Footnote says medium turnkey.
- Turner & Townsend: KSA Market Intelligence 2025, construction cost performanceOpened 25 October 2026. Riyadh average construction cost US$3,112 per m², from the 2024 average of US$2,593 per m². City average, not a villa finish rate. Not converted to SAR. The asset-type SAR column is not labelled per m² on the page, so those cells are not used. Concrete 30 MPa is SAR 290 per m³ for a 1,500 m³ job, supply only. Commercial preliminaries are stated for 2,500 m² and 50,000 m² projects and are not applied to the villa examples.
- Turner & Townsend: Global Construction Market Intelligence 2026, Middle EastOpened 25 October 2026. Average price to build in Riyadh US$2,874.0 per m². The page says the data were collected before the conflict in the Gulf. City average. Not converted to SAR and not averaged with US$3,112.
- GASTAT: Construction Cost Index, September 2026Opened 25 October 2026. September 2026 index up 2.2% from September 2025. Residential up 2.1%. Non-residential up 2.6%. Unchanged from August 2026. Residential basic materials up 1.7%, with timber and joinery up 3.5%, equipment rental up 4.1%, labour up 1.5% and energy up 3.0%. Fifty-one items, 13 regions, base year 2023. Not a SAR per m² villa price.
- GASTAT: Construction cost index definitionOpened 25 October 2026. The Arabic page defines the index as a measure of change in basic materials, labour, equipment rental and energy for residential and non-residential construction, published monthly. It does not state a riyal price per square metre.