A Few Words on Egyptian Real Estate

September 28, 2016

Horus Hotel

Minya, Egypt

Our guide Remi told us a bit about Egyptian real estate.

You see many apartment buildings, he said, where the outside is just brick, and maybe one floor is finished and has windows, and another floor might still be empty. The easiest apartments to sell are the ones on the top floor. The ones lower down maybe aren’t sold.

What happens is: someone – typically one person – pays to put up the shell of the building. When you buy an apartment, it’s up to you to finish it. So that’s the electrical, the plumbing, and so on. The owner of the building is responsible for paining the outside, but everything else is up to you.

Some people, he told us, when they’re in their 50s, or even in their 40s, buy an apartment for their son or daughter. It may sit empty for many years, but some people say that it is better to put your money into real estate than to put it in the bank. If something happens to the bank, you lose your money, but real estate holds its value. They are usually right.

You may finish the apartment as you go – as you can afford it. A little now, a little later.

And this is why you often see unfinished apartment building in Egypt.