What does it cost to build in the UAE and Saudi Arabia right now?  The honest answer is: it depends on when you're reading this.

We've recently released the eighth edition of our Construction Costs Benchmarking report, covering the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for H2 2025.  The data draws on more than 1,000 commissions across residential, hospitality, F&B, offices, retail, and other sectors — granular high-low cost ranges that reflect real project delivery across both markets.

But the market has moved since these numbers were published.

Since the Iran conflict began in late February 2026, certain MEP equipment costs have shifted significantly. Many live projects had already procured and taken delivery of materials — which has, for now, contained the exposure. For projects still in procurement or early-stage design, the picture is more complex.

"There is an element of caution in the market, which is prompting extra risk assessments by the industry and is being built into unit rates," says Francisco Batista, Compass's Regional Director for Commercial and Cost Management. "We could see continued price hikes if things don't revert to normal or thereabouts in the next month or two — but we do not currently anticipate this."

When the regional picture shifts, budgets get scrutinised. Decisions slow down or accelerate depending on where you sit. Either way, people reach for data — real figures, grounded in current market conditions, that give them something solid to work from.

That is exactly what these reports are built to provide.

In KSA, the story is structural. The residential property market has opened to foreign investors — a meaningful shift that is already influencing both single-family and multi-family development pipelines. Qiddiya's first theme park has opened its doors, signalling the beginning of a wider wave of giga-project activations. At the same time, PIF is taking a more deliberate approach to project timelines — a sign of a maturing market, not a retreating one.

The UAE market is moving through a period of broad-based growth, but it is not without pressure. Material and labour costs are rising. Contractor margins are tightening. Demand across hospitality, residential, and F&B continues at pace. Understanding where costs actually sit across asset types is not a nice-to-have in this environment. It is the starting point for every serious conversation.

Both reports carry updated benchmarks across key sectors, current as of H2 2025, prepared by our Cost Teams on the ground in both markets.

We will continue to publish a detailed picture of how costs have been impacted by the regional situation in our next report, covering H1 2026, due out early Q3.

Our Cost and Commercial Teams welcome further conversations to explore how your project investments can work better.  Download the reports here to recieve directly.