By Badawy Shalaby Mohamed Saad, director of the Al-Khabir Company for Investment and Real Estate, predicted that confidence will return to the real estate market in the coming period after a period of downturn, expressing hope that the current period of political stability will lead to a full recovery. He said that the Egyptian real estate market is looking promising, despite the difficulties it encountered after the January 25 revolution. He explained that his company is currently working on promoting the Emirates Heights tourist project on the North Coast. The project is built on 126 acres with chalets of between 50 and 100 square meters. The project also includes 225 square meter villas. Prices for chalets begin at EGP 295,000 as opposed to EGP 1.3million for villas. The project is currently 75% complete and work is expected to finish next September. The project includes the largest diving centre on the North Coast and the 20,000 square meter “Aqua Park," in addition to three hotels, a mini golf course, and several malls. Saad added that his company is also marketing the “AmwajSabour" project, which includes 2,600 housing units on 350 acres. The project will proceed in four stages and will be completed in 2015. 700 housing units have been delivered with a second round of selling taking place in 2013. The investment value of the project is EGP 1.8billion. Prices for housing units in the “AmwajSabour" project start at EGP 3.25million for 257 square metre villas on 1,400 square metres of land. The price of chalets from 106 and 180 square metres is between EGP 500,000 and EGP 1.55million. Saad praised the decision to take down the metal barriers from streets leading to the American and British embassies in Garden City, Cairo. He said that removing the barriers will allow the area to recover and lead to a rise in property values. The barriers had been in place since large protests took place in front of the embassies in 2003 as a result of the American led invasion of Iraq. Garden City's property values are expected to rise by 20%, which would encourage and that companies that had closed will return to the area. Saad noted that rising property values in the coming period would negatively impact the market, which is still in the process of recovery. He added that real estate companies would raise prices in order to compensate for losses in 2011, but that such moves will be an indication of trouble. Thus, he warned companies from attempting to achieve high profit margins by selling off administrative, residential, and commercial properties until the market returns to normalcy. Investing in the downtown area of Cairo was a waste investment, and witnessed a downturn of 80%. No investor is thinking seriously about investing in this particular area, which witnessed frequent and consistent disturbances since the revolution. Enterprises in the area witnessed up to 100% declines in business. Saad praised investments in El-Obour City, New Cairo, and El-Shorouk City, adding they are among the areas most attractive to investors, and that the three cities will see huge investment projects in the coming period, especially after the return of political stability to the country.
