Saudi Arabia Builds a Nationwide Real Estate Registry with ArcGIS Enterprise

In Saudi Arabia, which spans the vast majority of the Arabian Peninsula and is home to nearly 38.5 million people, real estate records and parcel data needed to be connected more accurately and efficiently at a national scale.

Deed records and parcel data were not consistently integrated due to land registration being managed by multiple entities, each using different standards, coordinate systems, and levels of data quality. To address these challenges and unify efforts, the Saudi government established the Real Estate Registry (RER), consolidating land registration activities and data on a unified platform to ensure greater consistency, accuracy, and integration.

The challenge was amplified by scale. Traditional approaches that relied heavily on field surveys were costly and difficult to expand across such a large area of land. At the same time, incomplete or outdated geographic information limited confidence in the collected data. Agencies couldn’t analyze real estate trends or access reliable location-based data quickly enough to support decision-making. The Real Estate General Authority, which regulates the real estate sector, was especially in need of trusted, location-based information.

To address this challenge, RER set out to build a nationwide real estate registry that connects deed records with parcel data using ArcGIS, a geographic information system (GIS) technology. RER developed a scalable framework for managing real estate data at a national scale while improving transparency, efficiency, and decision-making.

To create a trusted nationwide real estate registry, RER needed a consistent way to connect deed records with the land parcels they describe. The organization developed the Preliminary Cadastral Parcel (PCP), a standardized mapped parcel layer that connects real estate records to parcel geography across Saudi Arabia. The PCP could then support collaboration and data sharing across government entities.

ArcGIS Enterprise serves as the platform for managing, publishing, and sharing PCP data nationwide. Working within that platform, RER uses ArcGIS Pro to build, maintain, and validate parcel data across Saudi Arabia. That included bringing together information from multiple organizations, often delivered in different formats and coordinate systems. Using the ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension for ArcGIS Pro, which incorporates FME technology, RER staff automated extract, transform, and load (ETL) workflows that transform and harmonize these datasets. This workflow ensures parcel and real estate information remains consistent across the registry.

RER also uses imagery and raster analytics capabilities to support cadastral production and parcel maintenance. Aerial and satellite imagery help validate parcel boundaries and improve coverage in areas where spatial information is incomplete. This reduces the need for large-scale field surveys, lowering costs and making nationwide registration more scalable across the Kingdom.

To do this across the vast expanse of Saudi Arabia, RER adopted geospatial AI workflows that help connect large volumes of deed records to the correct parcels and support anomaly detection. Combined with embedded quality assurance checks, these workflows improve accuracy, reduce manual effort, and shorten processing times.

“GIS has fundamentally transformed how RER links and manages real estate data, enabling us to connect millions of deeds with accurate land parcels and build a reliable national spatial registry,” said Mohammad Al-Suliman, CEO of the Real Estate Registry. “Beyond efficiency, GIS has empowered us to move toward a fully integrated, data-driven registry that supports transparency and trust in property transactions.”

Building a nationwide real estate registry was only the beginning. To maximize its value, RER expanded access to authoritative parcel and real estate information through web-based GIS applications. By moving key workflows from desktop environments to the web, the organization made geospatial information and trusted real estate data more accessible to a broader range of users.

One example is the RER Land Analytics Monitoring Platform. Built with ArcGIS Experience Builder, the application extends the value of the PCP layer by making parcel and real estate data accessible in a web-based environment.

The platform helps users explore and manage a rapidly growing geospatial inventory that already includes more than 5 million parcels and approximately 80,000 square kilometers of aerial imagery. As the registry continues to expand, RER projects that coverage will grow to 7 million parcels and 140,000 square kilometers of imagery by 2027.

The application was designed to support everyday business processes. Users can search for parcels and deeds, compare datasets, filter information, and export results for further analysis. Because the platform is web based, access is no longer limited to desktop GIS users. This shift reduced task execution times, improved accessibility, and lowered operational overhead while making geospatial information easier to use across the organization.

Data visualizations built with ArcGIS Dashboards give users the ability to more easily monitor registration activity, track workflow progress, and review key performance indicators through a shared view of operations. By combining operational metrics with geographic context, dashboards help decision-makers understand what is happening, where it is happening, and how activity is changing over time. This visibility supports more timely oversight and strengthens coordination across Saudi Arabia’s real estate ecosystem.

RER has linked hundreds of thousands of deeds to mapped parcels and created a reliable foundation for a nationwide real estate registry. That location-based connection is what gives the registry its value. Property information can now be understood in context, analyzed spatially, and shared more consistently across the real estate ecosystem.

For RER, the shift changed daily operations. Automated workflows reduced manual effort and accelerated registration activities, while improved visibility into real estate data helped move teams from reactive troubleshooting to proactive, data-driven planning and policy development. The result is stronger coordination and a more connected real estate ecosystem.

Looking ahead, RER plans to build on this foundation with predictive analytics for valuation, urban development, and other advanced decision-support capabilities. The organization is also exploring digital twins, 3D mapping, and advanced spatial analysis to support planning at a national scale.

What began as an effort to connect deeds and parcels has evolved into a digital infrastructure capable of supporting the future demands of Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector. RER’s Preliminary Cadastral Parcel demonstrates how geospatial technology can support a scalable and sustainable nationwide real estate registry.