Renad Ghanem
CAIRO — Many Saudis believe that Egypt is the best country to purchase a second home, with many buying houses as investment or vacation properties. Saudi Gazette interviewed some Saudis who own houses in Egypt.
Rashid Al-Salem, a Saudi who bought a property in Al-Sheikh Zaid City in 2005 for 250,000 Egyptian pounds, said his property is now worth 1 million Egyptian pounds.
“I was vacationing in Egypt, and I knew that there was a new compound, but the district was a bit far and inhibited. I paid the cost of the house in cash, and I left the apartment closed until 2011. I came back and I was shocked to find that the area had become beautiful, classy and habited. Many people told me that I can sell it for more than a million EPG, but I kept it. I’ll offer it for rent and buy a new one in the same area for vacations,” he said.
Abdullah Mouniri, a Saudi who owns a villa in Cairo, said he bought it after the 2011 revolution and that he feels blessed that he can own property in Cairo as he calls it the city that never sleeps.
“I had two properties, one of them in Heliopolis near the airport. I bought it 20 years ago, and I bought a villa in 2011 in Al-Shaikh Zaid district, a new city in Cairo. It was calm and clean city inside Cairo despite all the instability that time in Egypt. I believed that the Egyptian real estate market will be booming not matter what, and that's what happened. If you come to Egypt you will see in every step a new building. The new cities around Cairo are attracting many Egyptians because it’s clean, calm and habited," he said.
“I’m not going to sell any of those properties, but I’m planning to buy more. It’s an investment. The property prices in Egypt are increasing with time. Unfortunately we, as Saudis, cannot buy the same quality of properties in our country because it’s too expensive."
A property consultant, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Gulf residents, especially Saudis, bought houses in Egypt because they are affordable.
“You may ask why they buy in the new cities. It’s only 15 minutes away from the heart of Cairo. If we compare the prices now to the next 15 years, the price will increase much more than you can imagine. These places have all the facilities, entertaining and safety options,” he said.
"Saudis consider Egypt their second home in my opinion. It’s only two hours away by flight, and there are many Saudi families who have Egyptian blood."
“Some rent their properties as long as they are abroad because they use it only for a month in a year. So they get benefit from the property, consider it an investment."
"I believe that as long as we have stability here, more Saudis will think about buying a property in Egypt, real estate market here is booming.”
