Over the past few months there have been a number of talks between prominent real estate developers and the Egyptian government to implement concrete steps to encourage foreigners buying properties on the Egyptian market.
There were many appearances in the different regional property expos but so far the lack of a state sponsored collective effort in cooperation with developers is preventing the sector from benefiting from all the opportunities before it…
If Egypt is to join this 2 trillion dollar international market the benefits would be immeasurable to the Egyptian economy and would create a much needed hard currency cash flow and bolster the real estate market that suffers from fluctuations due to the local and world economic realities of the day.
To reach that point however the following issues discourage foreign buyers from investing, namely:
- Bureaucracy and Red-tape: in registering land and properties is a challenge not only for expats but locals and the long complicated process is a deal breaker for those who want to make a trouble free investment.
- Perks such as residency permits are lacking: as many countries provide residency permits and even passports for people investing certain sums of money the law governing these perks is lacking or non-existent with many also already residing in Egypt but cant purchase due to strict government regulations.
- Standards and Finishing: as many people in Egypt prefer to finish their own houses and developers save on costs and the hassle of delivering turnkey projects, foregin nationals who have no experience or connections with local contractors would find this a turn-off to purchasing a property far from their comfort zone.
- Awareness and promotion: many people outside of Egypt and the Arab world simply don’t know how huge and promising the real estate market is in Egypt. With the backdrop of 2 seas and breathtaking compounds further promotions on international expos and conferences is essential to get the word out and push this gigantic industry to new heights.