Reasons of the difference between both of the expected and actual project completion periods : a study of the performance of real estate development companies in Riyadh city

الملخص EN

Objectives : The main objective of this study is to identi fy the opinions of companies with regard to the real estate development; how companies manage their projects and what abilities they possess in order to achieve their goals as planned within the deadlines.

In addition, the study attempts to find out gaps, based on scientific standards and theories by applying feasibility studies and a project management meth odology in terms of planning skills and forecasting sched ule to implement projects.

Method : The study followed an analytical descriptive study method.

The methodology that was followed consists of three phases : Data gathering stage, data analysis stage, conclusions and recommendations stage.

Using SPSS for data entry and analysis, the study sample con sists of 44% from real estate companies and entities, which are registered in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Riyadh (27 entities).

Results : The results showed that 18.5% of the companies were able to achieve a higher accuracy rate between the estimated and actual project times, while 81.5% could not, either with a shorter or longer estimated time.

The results showed that there are statistically significant differ ences related to company age and axis of impact on the mar ket and development.

Conclusion : The study underlined the importance of knowing the time difference between the es timated time and the actual time to complete projects in real estate projects so that the damage to the real estate market can be avoided.

The study suggested more future research, such as the extent to which project management in real es tate companies can abide by the estimated duration of their projects, the reasons for the inaccuracy of feasibility studies, and the difference in the estimated cost from the actual cost in real estate development projects.