20% growth in residential unit rental prices during last month: Real estate brokers

Basic goods in Egypt witness wave of rising prices over past three months, affect rent prices of residential units

The rental prices of residential units increased across Cairo with rates ranging from 10%-20% during the last month.
Real estate brokers believe the increase in residential unit rental prices is due to the increase in the prices of basic goods in Egypt over the past few months. They expect the increase of rent prices to continue until it reaches 30% before the end of this year.
In the southern Cairo area of Maadi, where tourists prefer to stay, real estate broker Mahmoud Ibrahim said the rent of residential units increased by 13% in last month. This has come in light of the low supply of residential units, in addition to the increased prices of all goods in Egypt, forcing unit owners to raise rent prices.
He said that Africans are the ones most likely to have been looking for residential units recently in the Maadi area and neighbouring districts.
"You can see many people with black skin in the area," he said.
Rental prices of residential units in Maadi range from EGP 1,800 to EGP 3,000, whereas in areas neighbouring Maadi, prices range from EGP 1,000 to EGP 1,600, according to Ibrahim.
He added that Africans prefer to stay in neighbouring areas to Maadi because of the lower rents compared to Maadi's higher rents.
Real estate contractor and broker Ali Al-Saidy said that Ain Shams is divided into two areas, east and south. In the east zone, rentals are higher than the ones in the west zone, with rentals ranging from approximately EGP 1,500 to EGP 2,000. On the other hand, rentals in the west zone are estimated at a range from EGP 500 to EGP 1,500.
According to Al-Saidy, prices increase at the beginning of August each year, due to the arrival of students who reserve housing units for the new academic year. Many owners prefer to rent to students rather than families, as students generally use their rented apartments in a better way than families.
He said that owners prefer students because they use apartments in a better way than families do. A single housing unit, with three rooms, can include more than seven students, with a rental of EGP 300 to EGP 500 per person.
Al-Saidy considered this a better method than renting units for families that mistreat the apartment during the rental period.
Mohamed Ali, a real estate broker, said that after Syrians started to arrive in Egypt in the beginning of 2012, rentals in 6th of October City area increased, as they prefer the area to settle in. In the meantime, rentals are estimated at EGP 1,200 to EGP 2,000 per unit.
He concluded that the majority of the people who search units for rent in 6th of October City are people who work in 6th of October City industrial zone. So they prefer to settle in an area which is close to their work.