Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 3, Book 30, Number 111:

Housing in Madinah

There are no compounds in Madinah, alhamdulilaah, because there are no non-muslims here inshallah. But usually your company should give you a housing allowance equal to 3 months pay, unless they happen to provide housing for you. Housing is very cheap alhamdulilaah.

Basically there are 3 ways to find a place.

1. through word of mouth - someone you know, knows of
a place that is available

2. going from building to building asking each
landlord - very time-consuming, and VERY hard without
your own car or someone to take you to every apartment
building

3. using a housing agency - fast, easy convenient, but
it costs SR 500 like $133 for an apartment and SR 1000 ($266) for a villa. not bad considering they do all the leg work for you, finding a place, and then showing each place to you, and you don't have to pay them unless you take a place that they showed you. it's best to use one that is near where you want to live, like near work or near the masjid an-nabawi. we used ghaanim al-aqar...ghaanim real estate for our first apartment, and then we used Maktab al-aqaaree here in Iskan when we wanted a villa. they are
very well-known and very nice masha alllah.

Rent is typically paid 6 months ahead for apartments and 1 year ahead for villas.
keep in mind that unless you plan on living in temporary housing permanently, apartments and villas are basically not furnished, no appliances (like fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer/dryer), no water heater, no carpet, no air-con (although some might have central ac), also some might come with kitchen counters, but most do not. Basically you will have to buy almost everything when you get here insha allah.

Housing rates:

3 room apt with kitchen: SR 12000 a year (about $3000 US)
5 room, 2 bath, kithen and living room SR 18000 - 28000 a year (28000 with
central ac and counters) ($4000 - $6000 US)

this is just an estimate, basically the rental rates that were current a few months ago. You may be able to find better rates, or more expensive rates, depending on what you want and where you want to live.

Typical rates for villas and apartments in Madinah - a typical simple villa with 3 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, a living room, a dining room and a majlis (brothers sitting room) runs SR25,000-SR35,000 and is usually paid one year in advance

Furnishing your house in Madinah

Buying appliances:

Expect to pay about SR 25000 to SR 35000 ($7000-$9000) to buy
appliances and furniture. the exchange rate is $1 US
to SR 3.75

A typical initial shopping list for appliances might
look like this. keep in mind this is for new
appliances.


Most appliances can be purchased at Extra and SACO, and furniture at City Plaza Home Center (which are all 100% Muslim-owned by Savola group, alhamdulilaah) located on Quba Road in the Aliat al-Madinah Shopping Plaza, next to Hyperpanda.




Hoover Upright Bagless Vacuum 750 SR


Hoover SteamVac Carpet Steamer 849 SR

Hoover Floormate for Hard Floors 799 SR

Car mini-vac 200 SR

Kenwood Chef Major Kitchen Machine Limited Edition 6.7 liter stand mixer with Juicer, blender, meat grinder, spice mill, and food processor attachments 2860 SR

Kelvinator 23 Cubic Feet Upright Fridge 2700 SR

Maytag 23 Cubic Feet Upright Freezer 2400 SR

Samsung 18 Cubic Feet Fridge/Freezer 1800 SR

Panasonic Plain Paper Fax 669 SR

Samsung Microwave 550 SR

Panasonic Juice Extractor with blender 280 SR

Black and Decker Citrus Juicer 85SR

Kenwood Mini-Food Processor 115 SR

Sony CD/Tape Player 300 SR

DeLonghi Toaster 280 SR

Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment System 1500 SR

Laptop 2000-7000 SR

Whirlpool stove - SR 2900 glass top electric range
 

Whirlpool dishwasher SR 2000
 

Whirlpool washer SR 1600
 

Maytag dryer SR 1700
 

Air Conditioner/Heater SR 1000-1200 you will need to buy one for each room you want it in (there are holes in the wall for these
 

Samsung microwave Sr 500
 

water heater SR 120 - if you come in the winter you MUST buy one for your bathroom asap, but you dont really need one in the summer alhamdulilaah, because the tap water is naturally hot from the heat.

kitchen counters SR 1200 for basic pre-fabricated, could be alot more expensive if you get custom made counters

ProForm Treadmill SR 4500

Stationary Bike SR 1500

Bookshelves SR 500-2000 each depending on size

Desks SR 500-1000 each

Chairs SR 400 each

Dining Table SR 2000

Sewing Machine SR 2000

Serger/Overlock Machine SR 2000