Three Egyptian ministers have announced their attendance at Egypt Real Estate Summit next Monday at the Four Seasons Hotel, Nile Plaza in Cairo. Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, minister of Investment Dr. Ashraf Salman and Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Dr. Khaled Hanafy are to provide hotly anticipated keynote speeches to update the industry on regulatory progress and the government's future strategies for real estate development. An overriding focus of discussion for 2015, and one that will be posed to the Ministers live on stage, is the current undersupply of predominantly middle income housing in Egypt. According to research and analysis from the leading real estate advisory firm, Colliers International, the Egyptian residential market requires an additional 500,000 units by 2020 to meet demand, of which 77 per cent is mid-cost units targeting households with an annual income of USD 10,000-USD 25,000 per annum. Mansoor Ahmed, Director of Development Solutions at Colliers in the MENA region states "While government initiatives are addressing the shortage of economic housing for low income brackets and key developers are launching projects targeting high-income residents, there remains a significant gap in the market for mid-range affordable housing that is required to meet the majority of Egypt's residents' needs." "Since 2013, average sales prices for apartments and villas have increased 27 per cent and 64 per cent respectively, while average rental rates for apartments have increased by 14 per cent. Unlike other markets in the region, where price appreciation has been driven primarily by a combination of expatriate demand and investor speculation, the upward movement in the Greater Cairo housing market is underpinned by sustained local demand and un-met supply fundamentals. This supply gap is most pronounced across the middle-income sector." Mansoor Ahmed will be providing further details during his discussion on real estate supply and demand structure at the Egypt Real Estate Summit in Cairo, starting next Tuesday 14 September. He will be joined by more than 300 delegates and over 40 regional and international experts including high level representatives of the Suez Canal Authority in Egypt who will be providing updates on Egypt's economic lifeline, the New Suez Canal Project and Development Corridor; and Eng. Hussein Sabbour, Chairman of Al Ahly for Real Estate Development Company, who will be joining a panel of experts to discuss developer's future plans for the next 3-5 years including expansion strategies and unit price forecasts. Omar Sabbour, Managing Director of Sinai Management and Development Company states "I'm very pleased to be joining this year's summit as a panellist as I believe this will be a special and crucial year for the real estate and hospitality industries in Egypt. The government is planning for a number of very important mega projects that not only will be of great benefit to our economy, but will also provide great investment opportunities for local and international developers creating many much needed job opportunities for Egyptians. These developments include the Suez canal development, the golden triangle, and the north coast to name a few." Eng. Maged Helmy, Chairman of Wadi Degla Real Estate Development Company elaborates; "The real estate market will continue to grow steadily for the foreseeable future backed by the mounting local demand, creating a big surge in real estate market capacity." The Egypt Real Estate Summit will commence on 16 September, just before the Official Opening of the Cityscape Egypt Exhibition at 2pm. The exhibition will run for four days at the Cairo International Convention Centre. Sponsors of the 2015 event include Gold Sponsor Taamir for Mortgage Finance Company Aloula, Associate Conference Sponsor Colliers International and Headline Awards Sponsor Lafarge Cement Egypt SAE. Cityscape's exhibitions, conferences and seminars are the leading events that bring together key industry decision makers, international investors, developers, government and investment authorities, leading architects, designers, and consultants active in the design and construction of real estate.
