Knight Frank reveals size of ‘metro premium’ as Riyadh Metro fuels residential price growth

• Riyadh Metro puts 1.5 million residents within walking distance of rapid transit 
• Villa values rose by up to 78% in areas that gained direct metro access 
• Being just 500m closer to a station can add SAR 96 psm to apartment values  

 Riyadh | 22  October 2025: The positive impact of the opening of the Riyadh Metro on residential values in the Saudi capital has been revealed in a new white paper from global property consultancy Knight Frank, with some villas close to stations seeing uplifts of 78% on 2023 prices. 

Delivered in an unprecedented single “big bang” launch, the Riyadh Metro represents a transformational milestone in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic growth strategy. An immediate success, the six-line, 85-station network has transported more than 100 million passengers in its first nine months of operation, reflecting strong demand for enhanced connectivity. 

Knight Frank estimates around 1.5 million of Riyadh’s 8.3 million residents live within a 15-minute walk of a metro station, equivalent to 18% of the city’s population. This is a staggering proportion for a newly launched system, with nearly one in five Riyadh residents benefitting directly from enhanced accessibility from day one. For comparison, in Dubai approximately 13% of the population live within walking distance of the Dubai Metro.  

Faisal Durrani, Partner – Head of Research, MENA, said: “The opening of the Riyadh Metro is the starting point of the city’s urban transformation, not its conclusion. Designed to generate change rather than react to it, the system will reshape residential patterns, business locations and the lived experience of the city’s residents. As one of the flagship initiatives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the metro is more than a transport project, it is a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s ambition to diversify the economy, enhance liveability and transform Riyadh into a global capital. Transport infrastructure is central to this vision, reducing car dependency, cutting emissions and enabling more sustainable patterns of growth.” 

The three stations with the highest surrounding populations are Al Bat'ha, Al Wizarat and National Museum in central Riyadh. Each has around 50,000 residents living within 15 minutes’ walk. 

To measure the property market’s response to the metro opening, Knight Frank compared villa prices in three districts with differing characteristics: Tuwaiq, Al Yarmuk and Al Malqa. In each case, homes located within a 15-minute walk of a metro station were benchmarked against those further away.  

The direct impact on villa prices is already visible, with the research showing clear evidence of a metro premium. In Tuwaiq, the value of homes near the station rose by 20% between Q2 2023 and Q2 2025, compared with 10% growth further away. In Al Yarmuk, the effect was especially pronounced, with prices near the metro surging by 78%, versus 22% in more peripheral areas. Even in Al Malqa, one of Riyadh’s most established districts, values near the metro have climbed by 20%.  

Durrani added, “Proximity to metro stations is also having a direct impact on apartment values. For instance, prices for apartments close to a station are, on average, SAR 96 psm higher than for an equivalent apartment just 500 m further away. In fact, our analysis shows that for every additional metre closer to a station an apartment is, the price rises by SAR 0.19 psm. This means that for two otherwise identical 250 sqm apartments, the one located 500m closer to the metro station will, on average, be valued at SAR 24,000 more.” 

Harmen de Jong, Regional Partner - Head of Consulting, MENA, said: “These results confirm that Riyadh Metro accessibility is already influencing home values. The direct correlation between house prices and proximity to metro stations that we found is consistent with the effect seen in other major cities around the world, reinforcing the conclusion that metro accessibility is a key determinant of real estate value. In Riyadh, where the metro is newly operational, the scale and significance of the effect underlines its role as a key driver of residential demand and home values, which over time is likely to intensify further as metro usage becomes more widespread and embedded in the cultural fabric of the city.” 

For residents, the metro means shorter commutes and potentially broader housing choices; for businesses, it could lead to enhanced labour mobility; and for developers, it opens new development corridors. It also supports the Vision 2030 Quality of Life Programme, promoting denser, mixed-use and more sustainable urban communities while bringing congestion relief and environmental benefits. By drawing residents closer to stations and shifting trips from cars to trains, current projections suggest the metro will eliminate around 250,000 car trips and save 400,000 litres of fuel per day, reinforcing its role in sustainable urban mobility.  

Looking ahead, expansion plans, including the 65km Line 7 corridor linking Qiddiya, King Salman Park, Diriyah Gate, New Murabba and King Khalid International Airport, will extend these accessibility and sustainability benefits further, unlocking new areas for development. 

NEW DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES 

For developers and investors, the Metro network creates opportunities for placemaking in the immediate vicinity of the new stations and could unlock new land parcels that may have previously been considered too remote.  

de Jong, continued: “Transit-oriented development (TOD) principles suggest that transit infrastructure achieves maximum impact when paired with planning for mixed-use, walkable, higher-density development around stations. Creating vibrant, pedestrian-friendly “station precincts” with integrated retail, residential and office space tends to further increase the desirability of these locations”.  

While Riyadh’s urban form has historically been low-density and car-centric, the introduction of the metro alongside supportive land-use changes, such as upzoning around stations, could produce similar TOD dynamics: higher foot traffic supporting retail, new housing projects clustered around stations, and a shift in preferences toward transit-served neighbourhoods.  

These effects could also eventually extend to neighbourhoods not in direct proximity to a station. The metro cannot operate in isolation; to fully unlock its value, it must be supported by reliable feeder modes such as buses and improved pedestrian networks. Recent bus passenger data underlines this interdependence. Nationally, buses served 23 million passengers in Q1 2025 – a 34% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. And while in the second quarter of the year country-wide bus passenger volumes decreased by 7% from the first quarter, in Riyadh they continued to grow – rising from 15 million to 15.6 million. 

de Jong concluded: “The metro’s long-term success will be reinforced by transit-oriented development and the growing integration with buses and other last-mile solutions. Moreover, the metro’s evident success further supports expansion plans, including the Line 2 extension to Diriyah and the planned Line 7, linking Qiddiya, King Salman Park, Diriyah Gate, New Murabba and King Khaled International Airport.  

“Exemplifying the Kingdom’s bold Vision 2030 goals, the Riyadh Metro is both a landmark infrastructure achievement and a strategic economic lever, embedding accessibility at the heart of Riyadh’s transformation.” 

Read Knight Frank’s white paper “The value of access: Measuring the impact of Riyadh metro on real estate”.