Sabbour, Positive and Optimistic

Date: 2020-12-02

Positive and Optimistic


The renowned engineer Ahmed Sabbour, CEO of Al Ahly Sabbour and one of the leading real estate developers in Egypt and in the Middle East, shares his predictions with he Home about the real estate market in the year 2021.

The son of the legendary real estate and engineering consultant Hussein Sabbour opened up to he Magazineabout the current situation of the real estate market in Egypt and beyond, revealing that the Egyptian real estate market has gone through a few ups and downs over the past 24 months.

“There was a noticeable slowdown at the beginning of 2019, which lasted until Q3 of that year; however, the market picked up again towards the end and regained its position among other sectors in the country. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis caused another slowdown that lasted for only three months before it started to recover as life retuned to a more normal pace. However, when faced with such turbulence, developers are not expected to wait until the picture is clearer. We have to be proactive and engineer plans that serve not only our initial targets, but also ones that are in favor of keeping that sector, which has been making up almost 20% of the country’s GDP,” Ahmed Sabbour said.

 

 

The past months have seen the Egyptian government applying a new law regarding irregularities and violations in the building process, which has therefore affected buying and selling in the real estate market. According to Sabbour, settling building violations reflects the government’s seriousness towards putting an end to illegal building, which has been dominant in certain areas around Egypt and facilitated by local administrations. “Based on comprehensive research carried out by the Ministry of Housing, the law aims to eliminate illegal endeavors while also directing the collected fines towards services that add value to communities across the country, including hospitals, schools, and housing,” he explained.

“We believe that this law has already helped create awareness around non-code construction and its impact on surrounding communities. Illegally built projects damage the quality of life in their locations with pollution, noise, unsupervised actions, and lack of maintenance, ultimately lowering the value of the entire property. This is exactly what any homebuyer is looking to avoid, and it will be easy to monitor this knowing they can trust the company providing them with a permanent home,” Sabbour added.

Sabbour, one of the most famous developers, also talked about the main criteria customers consider when searching for and picking their dream home. “Demand shapes how developers plan for their next steps. Available projects are reactions to customers’ needs and priorities in both first and second homes,” he said. “A project should aspire to maintain a perfect mix of good location, customizable units, top-notch services and infrastructure, and be a good investment.”

“In order to ensure that their agendas are compatible with the post COVID-19 market, real estate developers must offer products that cater to the needs shaping our new normal,” Sabbour continued. “The COVID-19 outbreak will have a long-term effect on the products that customers are seeking, which is why developers are now working on ways to incorporate more work-from-home options in their units, enabling their infrastructure to accommodate the needs of this new environment.”

He added that the recent situation of the pandemic has turned the attention of the customers to green landscape areas saying, “Possessing units with, or near, vast green spaces has never been more important, especially post-COVID, which is why customization is key. Having a residential area with an ability to be easily divided into living and working areas, as well as efficiently using all space available, is going to be a top customer priority.”

Regarding whether these days are a good or bad time for individuals to invest in real estate, the market’s tycoon Sabbour confirmed it was indeed good.“In Egypt, it’s always a good time to invest in real estate. As things slowly get back to normal, customers’ wait-and-see-attitudes will start turning into trust, which will inspire action,” he said.“The Egyptian real estate industry is resilient, and the past few months have seen it impressively recover from the slump caused by the lockdown. This is why we have no doubt that it will remain a safe haven for investors and a founding pillar of our economy.”

 

 

The Egyptian government has recently been expanding in the desert in all directions, turning vast, empty, and unpopulated lands into new communities and cities in order to keep up with the high growth in population. Sabbour tells us about the areas that are worth developing and investing in for both buyers and sellers.

“The government and its related entities are increasingly undertaking large-scale co-developments with private developers. This will result in an increased supply of units on the market moving forward. Cities like the New Administrative Capital, Mostakbal City, New Alamein, and New Mansoura are projected to attract an influx of foreign investments over the coming years,” Sabbour shared.

“Our work at Mostakbal City reflects the amount of potential we believe this area has as a first-home destination. Located in the eastern extension of New Cairo and spanning over an area of 11,000 acres, the equivalent of 45 million square meters, the project is situated in a prime location on the Cairo-Suez Road. The city of Odyssia, our most significant project over the past 25 years, is a mixed residential compound in an important and highly visible location, which will house around 12,000 families. Al Ahly Sabbour aspires for the new development to capitalize on the existing greenery and new strong public transportation connections that are an integral part of the Mostakbal City masterplan. This project represents a new phase for Al Ahly Sabbour towards implementing our new strategic direction,” Sabbour said.

“Moreover, in recent years the North Coast has grown; it has become a prominent destination every summer. Instead of old-school, family-oriented summer vacations on the coast, the area has been overturned within the last couple of years, although we have seen a shorter season this year due to COVID-19. Accordingly, demand has skyrocketed with pricing of units exponentially increasing in the last five years more than it ever did in the last twenty and more so than the normal housing market for any real estate in other locations within Egypt. In response, not only did real estate developers take notice but so did the government,” he said.

“Developers and the government have started capitalizing on this huge collective demand for acquiring second homes and commercial units in the North Coast. In addition to an abundance of new and developing projects lining the coast from Alexandria all the way to Sidi Abdelrahman, the government’s recent announced plan of establishing New Alamein has also been critical for real estate in the area. An integrated urban community, New Alamein covers over 48,000 acres and is expected to attract three million Egyptians by the year 2030, making it one of the country’s most ambitious projects targeting customers all year round,” Sabbour, the CEO of Al Ahly Sabbour explained.

Finally, the leading developer Sabbour unveiled his predictions regarding the future of real estate in Egypt. “We believe that 2021 will witness major positive changes in the real estate sector, especially with the transfer of government entities, and later the presidency, to the New Administrative Capital. Also, the market will continue to move forward as projects in the New Administrative Capital and New Alamein start delivering and going into full operation, allowing the availability of services in the latter and making it a year-round destination,” Ahmed Sabbour concluded.

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