Egypt's real estate sector offers promising growth opportunities owing to the rise in demand for housing units and the country's large population, said the chairman of American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. During an opening keynote speech at AmCham's real estate event Sunday, Anis A. Aclimandos referred to the increasing demand for the middle-class housing units in Egypt and accordingly a rise in the number of clients asking for this type of housing projects. That's why, Aclimandos called the government to provide investors with more land plots for this type of projects. AmCham has organised Sunday a conference entitled Real Estate Industry in Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities Conference. The middle-income housing segment seems poised to undergo an expansion in the coming years. For starters, companies traditionally devoted to other segments, like high-end developers, are starting to make good on their long-awaited entry into the middle-income market. Consequently, existing middle-income housing providers are adapting their models too. Despite a sizeable one-third of Egypt's population being classified as middle class by the African Development Bank (AfDB), this group has traditionally been increasingly squeezed by factors such as declining job security and inadequate housing options to match this bracket's needs. Something has got to give, and the time has arrived. Trends that will bolster the middle market in the near future are the scaling down of unit sizes, diversifying the design of the housing stock, the maturation of the mortgage market, and the potential consolidation of developers. Meanwhile, Mohamed Abdullah – Head of Real Estate Committee at AmCham – has described the Egyptian real estate industry as one of the most promising sectors that acts as a catalyst for the revival of other industries in the country. He also urged the government to provide more lands to meet the growing demand for homes alongside to support the mortgage activity to address the clients' various needs. Moreover, Karim Awad – CEO of EFG-Hermes and Head of Capital Market Committee at AmCham – said the real estate sector is a key catalyst for attracting investors to Egypt's capital market. Real estate firms listed in the Egyptian bourse enjoy strong financial position, Awad noted. According to a recent report by the Egyptian financial service company Premiere Securities, real estate and construction sectors in Egypt have grown 420 per cent during the past ten years.
