Egypt-based company Diarna, a leading real estate marketing company, targets a 50% increase in net sales for the next fiscal year compared to the company's current net sales of $500mn, according to the company's sales manager Reda Elmenshawy. Elmenshawy said the company is planning to expand by opening two new sales offices: one in the North Coast (1 August) and the other in Dubai (by the end of 2016). These offices would be an addition to Diarna's offices in Heliopolis and the Fifth Settlement. Egypt's real estate sector witnessed an incremental growth throughout 2015. According to the Oxford Business Group, in the first quarter of 2015 property investment in Egypt increased by 30%. Consequently, residential sales prices have increased by as much as 20% since real estate is considered a safe haven against inflation and the devaluation of the Egyptian pound. "The US dollar value is a decisive factor for the real estate market. Any rise in the value has a positive effect on the market, as it results in the increase in the purchasing power of Egyptians abroad," said Elmenshawy. Elmenshawy explained that one of the major challenges facing Egypt's real estate market is land speculations—the practice of engaging in risky financial transactions in an attempt to profit from fluctuations in the market value. This happens when the government offers up a huge number of land plots for auction at once without prior notice, which in turn withdraws liquidity from the market.
"The government should announce plans for the plots of land to be offered for auction a year in advance to allow companies time to plan ahead," Elmenshawy said. "The government should also prohibit individuals from accessing such auctions, limiting it to real estate companies, as part of the efforts to fight land speculations."
