In the Kingdom itself, Al Oula has projects in all of the major cities, says Ayedh Al Qahtani, who believes that Al Oula will take the biggest share in the market in developing residential units. “Saudi Arabia lagged behind its Gulf neighbours in liberalising its real estate sector.And as a consequence, the Kingdom's property development companies, while posting impressive profits, have not so far experienced the hyper-growth that has been achieved in other Gulf States. It would be no exaggeration to say that the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia is second only to oil in terms of its economic contribution.