The Real Estate Development Chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, headed by Tarek Shoukry, has announced that it has secured new gains for the real estate market through continuous dialogue with the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities. These gains are meant to help real estate companies cope with the current challenges and boost their performance.
Shoukry, who is also the Undersecretary of the housing committee at the House of Representatives and the Head of the Real Estate Investment Division at the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, revealed the details of these gains during the 7th Think Commercial roundtable entitled “Rise of Diversified Real Estate Market”. He said that the Ministry of Housing has agreed to the following:
- Cancel overseas service fees for serviced residences and educational properties, and reduce them for commercial and administrative activities.
- Change the percentage of spaces allocated to service properties in projects to range between 5 and 15%, instead of the current range of 8 and 12%. This will increase the project’s investment return and compensate for any losses during the construction period.
- Increase built-up areas by 10%, and allow the ground floor to be built as apartments with gardens in case of height restrictions.
- Consider the completion percentage of the project at 80%, instead of 95%, which means that part of the project area will be available to the developer to offset any losses during the development period.
- Postpone the payment of installments for two years, with a reduced interest rate of 10%.
Shoukry added that these facilities are not sufficient to fully support the real estate market and that there are still more demands that are being studied by the government. He said that the government has responded to about 80% of the demands submitted by the chamber, and hoped that the remaining 20% will be met soon. He stressed that the chamber is constantly communicating with the Ministry of Housing and other relevant authorities to reach more facilities that will enhance the ability of real estate companies to deal with challenges beyond their control.
