Rental Index: How to Check the Average Rent in Your Neighborhood Before You Sign

Before you sign a new lease, the most important questions to ask are: is this price fair for this neighborhood, and does it fit my budget? This is where the Rental Index helps. It's a free official tool that shows actual rent prices in the city and neighborhood you're interested in, based on leases registered on the Ejar platform.

The Rental Index is a service from the Ejar network, available on the Sakani platform. It was launched in March 2022 to make the rental market more transparent. The index is based on leases that were actually registered, not on advertised prices, so it gives you a closer picture of real market rents. It shows you:

• Average rent by unit type: apartment, studio, villa or floor.
• Number of deals registered in the neighborhood or city.
• Price range: the lowest and highest of the most common prices.
• Residential and commercial indices, each shown separately.
• Price changes over time, monthly or quarterly.

1. Go to the Sakani reports and data page and choose the Rental Index.
2. Choose the Detailed Index from the top menu.
3. Select the region, then the city, then the neighborhood.
4. Choose the period: monthly or quarterly.
5. Make sure Residential is selected, not Commercial.
6. You'll see a table for each unit type with the number of deals and the average price, plus a map of the neighborhood.

The index has two sections that help you choose the right neighborhood:

• Compare: Compare the average rent across several neighborhoods in the same city, on a map and in a chart.
• Smart search: Set your budget, and the index shows you the neighborhoods with prices in that range.

The index also lists the licensed real estate brokers in the neighborhood you're searching.

• Know the fair price: If the asking rent is well above the neighborhood average, you have a clear reason to negotiate.
• Compare like with like: Apartment rents differ from villa and floor rents, so always compare the same unit type.
• Watch the timing: Check how prices have changed in recent periods. Is the market in that neighborhood rising or falling?

Knowing the average rent is half the decision; the other half is your budget. A common rule of thumb in financial planning is that housing costs shouldn't exceed roughly a third of your monthly income, so divide the annual rent by 12 and compare it with your monthly salary.

The problem is that most leases in Saudi Arabia are paid annually or every 6 months, so even if the rent fits your salary, one large payment can still put pressure on you.

With Rize, you can split your annual rent into flexible monthly payments, while the landlord receives the full annual rent upfront. Rize is licensed by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA), and its solutions are Shariah-compliant.

Apply through the Rize app and you'll get a clear fee offer before you commit to anything. See Rize's rental requirements

Yes, you can use it for free on the Sakani platform.

From lease contracts registered on the Ejar network.

It covers more than 160 cities and governorates in Saudi Arabia.

The residential index shows the average rent for apartments, villas and floors, while the commercial index shows the average price per square meter for shops, showrooms and offices.

Yes. With Rize, you split your annual rent into monthly payments, and Rize pays the landlord the full annual rent upfront.