The Urban Development Committee discussed, in its first meeting, the issues and challenges facing the real estate and urban sector, with the development of implementable visions that contribute to improving and developing the real estate market in Egypt.

Urban Development Committee

The Urban Development Committee is one of the committees that the Prime Minister issued a decision to form within 6 committees to enhance communication between the government and the private sector.

Real Estate Development Chamber

Tarek Shukry, Head of the Real Estate Development Chamber at the Federation of Industries and Deputy of the Housing Committee in the House of Representatives, said that the meeting focused on several files, most notably the mechanisms for exporting Egyptian real estate, as the challenges that hinder achieving high export rates were discussed, and the opportunities available to enter the Egyptian real estate market in regional and international competition.

Shukry added that the success of the real estate export file requires ease of government procedures, in addition to providing a real estate product with high specifications that meet the aspirations of investors, whether Arabs or foreigners.

Providing fully finished residential units

He stressed the need to provide fully finished residential units, as foreign customers prefer ready-to-live-in properties, provided that they are of distinguished quality and services that are in line with the standards of foreign markets.

He pointed out that the committee discussed several axes related to the business environment within the real estate sector, including facilitating licensing and operating procedures, as committee members confirmed that increasing the license issuance period represents an obstacle to the speed of project implementation.

Interest rates represent a major challenge facing the development sector

The meeting discussed some of the problems faced by real estate developers in the past periods, especially with regard to civil protection systems, coastal project licenses, and administrative obstacles related to beaches.

Shoukry added that the importance of facilitating government procedures to accelerate the implementation of projects was emphasized, which contributes to increasing the volume of foreign direct investment in the real estate sector, and enhances the competitiveness of the Egyptian market in this field.

The meeting reviewed the file of real estate market financing mechanisms, as the committee confirmed that high interest rates represent a major challenge facing the real estate development sector.

Finding a new mechanism to support the real estate market

The members discussed ways to find a new mechanism to support the real estate market, through more flexible real estate financing programs, in addition to developing new financing systems that help customers own housing units, especially in light of the decline in the purchasing power of some categories due to the high prices of units.

He pointed out that the committee discussed ways to encourage real estate developers to pump new investments, by providing financing solutions that alleviate the financial burdens facing real estate companies, especially those that suffer from the difficulty of providing 30% of self-financing for projects, according to current banking requirements.

The committee stressed, during the meeting, that the Egyptian real estate market has huge potential, but full benefit from it requires structural reforms that facilitate the work of real estate companies and enhance the attractiveness of the sector to local and international investors.