In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of humanity was living in urban areas. Perhaps the most remarkable observation is the speed at which this happened: as recently as 1900, urban areas accounted for 13% of the global population. Towns and cities are seen as the crucibles of opportunity for many rural dwellers. The UN...
The Egyptian real estate market has proven itself remarkably resilient to the political and economic tensions the country has experienced over the 2011-17 period. However, while real estate has historically been seen as a safe bet in uncertain times, economic headwinds, especially strong in late 2016 and the first half of 2017, stoked by...
As Egypt is poised for rapid construction growth, the cement industry will become increasingly important as the bedrock of the sector. While the industry has plenty of capacity, it remains vulnerable to energy availability and pricing. As the last year has shown, a spike in fuel prices can hit the cement industry, and thus the whole...
While Egypt’s formal real estate market has become a crucial and high-performing segment of the economy, it has struggled to tackle the challenge of affordable housing. Egypt suffers from a chronic housing deficit of up to 3m homes, with annual demand for new homes reaching as high as 500,000 units. Previous administrations have sought to...
While the decision to float the Egyptian currency in November 2016 had a mixed impact on developers and the new-build residential market, it had a singular consequence for the resale or secondary market. Indeed, in terms of new units, the market has continued to progress, with extended payment terms and a slower release of off-plan units...
Contractors in the Egyptian market have been among the hardest hit by the government’s ambitious reform agenda over 2017. While Cairo’s efforts to put the national economy on sounder footing will likely bear fruit, there has been short-term pain in the form of high inflation and increased cost pressures on construction firms. In this period of...
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