Owing to a relative recession that takes over the property market throughout the season, real estate prices usually drop during the winter season. However, this winter has shown a completely different face for business and residential properties. This is not only because prices have not fallen yet, but they are expected to rise during the next few weeks, in parallel to an expected surge in steel and cement prices, as well as a continuing increase of commodity prices. Ahmed Salem, a real estate broker in Heliopolis, said that the price of a semi-finished apartment—on an area of about 230 sqm—amounts to EGP 2.67m in cash or EGP 2.99m in mortgage payments. "Prices of real estate have not fallen this winter because of a hike in steel and cement prices," he explained, adding that real estate prices are expected to rise in January 2018. In this respect, Salem revealed that the price of steel is forecasted to reach about EGP 16,000 per tonne. "In El-Haram St, the price of a premium finished apartment, on an area of about 120 sqm, can range between EGP 350,000 and EGP 700,000, depending on its location," Ayman Al-Tahawy, a real estate broker, said. "An old apartment that is finished at a low quality can be sold at EGP 180,000 at least," he added. "Prices are no longer related to a certain season, as market prices change every day," he explained. Yasser Dawood, a real estate broker in New Cairo and the Fifth Settlement area, revealed that the lowest price of a 150 sqm premium finished apartment is EGP 1.2m. "An unfinished apartment can be sold at EGP 900,000," he added. In this regard, Dawood asserted that prices never drop in the Fifth Settlement area, whether in summer or winter.
