by FSBO 
Are you planning to sell overseas property fast in Egypt? In this guide to selling your overseas property in Egypt we take a look at the state of the Egyptian real estate market and tell you what to expect.
The real estate market in Egypt has been generally insulated from the political turmoil in the country. The economic upheavals actually helped the real estate market to grow as investors had no option but to put their money into property, given that the banks had failed and stock markets had crashed.
Egypt has gone through serious political instability in recent years. After the fall of the dictatorial regime in 2011, there have been three presidents already, first Mohamed Morsi, then Adly Mansour, and finally president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
During this time the value of Egyptian currency fell in comparison to the US dollar and the euro. The Egyptian government had so far until now strictly controlled the currency, but now that the controls are off, cash is no longer seen as a risky investment. There is an element of financial stability imposed by the market as it is the market, not the government that decides the currency rates.
The consequences of this on the property sector have been mixed. What is clear is that there are more wealthy international investors from countries like Germany, Ireland, Russia, China and from Scandinavia and the Middle East who are taking advantage of the lower value of the Egyptian currency to buy properties on the cheap. So if you are trying to sell overseas property fast in Egypt, these are the investors you should be looking at.
But the local investment in property is no longer the same as before. In fact, some Egyptian real estate observers such as Salah-Ahmed say that there is a real estate crash in Egypt. “I think there’s a tremendous slowdown in the real estate sector,” Mr. Salah-Ahmed says. “If this was a normal country, they would call this a crash.”
The fact is Egypt’s GDP growth is 10 percent dependent on real estate. This is up from 3 percent before the Arab Spring of 2011. There has been a definite slowdown in the Egyptian economy and real estate prices have depreciated, thus cutting into the savings of middle-class Egyptians.
The devaluation of the Egyptian pound has created other pressures, such as higher inflation and lower wages for buyers. Construction activity is not as high as before and the signs of a recession are unmistakable. Noaman Khalid, an economist who works with the CI Capital Asset Management in Cairo says, “It’s become a problem of affordability and the problem of inputs on the supply side.”
In this scenario, selling your property in Egypt is not easy. You will need to seek out the assistance of an experienced UK estate agent who operates in the overseas property market and is skilled at reaching out to wealthy international property hunters from Germany, Ireland, Russia, China and from Scandinavia and the Middle East. Contact us for advice on how to sell Egyptian property fast.
