El-Gindy submits a proposal with a desire to export Egyptian real estate to attract investments and provide foreign exchange
Engineer Hazem El-Gendy, a member of the Senate, submitted a proposal of his desire addressed to Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, and Engineer Assem El-Gazzar – The Minister of Housing, Utilities and New Urban Communities, regarding the export of Egyptian real estate in hard currency to attract investments and provide foreign exchange.
El-Gindy said, in the proposal with desire, that the Egyptian real estate market has witnessed a major development boom over the past years within the framework of the Egyptian state’s support for development. Al-Omraniya, as it was keen to implement many projects in various governorates of the Republic and expand the establishment of smart cities, and the real estate market plays a vital role in developing the economy as a form of investment, pointing out that the idea of exporting real estate depends on attracting foreign capital to the real estate market in the form of investments. Various real estate properties, and the pumping of foreign currencies into the country, and refers to attracting the foreign investor towards investing in real estate assets inside the country in foreign currency, in exchange for certain privileges, including the right to reside or obtain citizenship for himself and his family according to different conditions between countries, and thus exporting real estate is a type of Real estate investment is available to foreigners residing in the country and abroad in foreign currency.
El-Guindi pointed out that the size of the global real estate export market reaches $300 billion, and Fitch expects an increase in investments in the Egyptian real estate market in the long term, driven by the strength of the real estate sector. Commercial activity in Egypt, as a result of the state’s continuous efforts to establish new cities. Which enhances real estate investment, as new cities provide potential investors with attractive and large-scale opportunities for real estate projects. The size of the Egyptian real estate market reached 3.5 trillion Egyptian pounds in 2023, and is expected to reach 5.2 trillion Egyptian pounds by 2028, and residential real estate constitutes the largest share. From the Egyptian market, where its value reached 2.5 trillion Egyptian pounds in 2023, commercial real estate comes in second place with a value of 1 trillion Egyptian pounds.
He pointed to the most prominent international models for promoting real estate export: the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Portugal, and Colombia, And Malta. He also pointed out that the Egyptian government had begun planning an important initiative under the title of exporting real estate in dollars, directed especially towards foreign and Egyptian customers residing abroad, by giving them the opportunity to purchase residential units in different and unconventional ways, and the state paid special attention to exporting real estate to foreigners and Egyptians living abroad. Abroad, the state has provided facilities and incentives for foreigners to invest in real estate, including obtaining citizenship and residency, as Egypt is considered one of the countries that has great potential to export real estate, but faces a number of local challenges regarding its ability to expand the export of real estate, most notably the difficulty of administrative procedures, and the lack of The existence of clear laws regulating the export of real estate, and the lack of sufficient promotional campaigns to attract foreign investors, in addition to the crisis of high inflation and weak real estate financing, in addition to the scarcity of registered real estate, bureaucracy and complex procedures facing investors, in addition to the lack of information and the lack of sufficient data on the Egyptian real estate market. And the difficulty of real estate registration procedures in the real estate registry.
He continued: The challenges also include the absence and weakness of marketing and promotion efforts and procedures for Egyptian real estate abroad, which reduces the chances of attracting foreign investors, in light of the size of the global real estate export market, which is estimated at about 300 billion dollars annually, and compared to Egypt’s share in this sector, we find it very small, which requires preparing a good promotional plan to market the Egyptian real estate product, creating new demand through presence on international real estate platforms, and launching promotional campaigns for Egyptian real estate.
El-Gindy stressed that there is an urgent need to implement and activate the export of Egyptian real estate, whether to foreigners from other countries or to Egyptians abroad, in hard foreign currency, and all obstacles that faced the government’s initiative to export real estate must be removed so that exports can be expanded, which contributes to achieving economic growth. And attracting investments, calling for attention to marketing and promoting Egyptian real estate in various countries of the world and to Egyptians abroad, and the necessity of developing an integrated strategy for marketing Egyptian real estate abroad, and expanding the facilitation and simplification of real estate registration mechanisms using incentives, so that these properties are included within the Egyptian real estate wealth, which qualifies them for trading. And for use as a guarantee for credit facilities.
He called for the introduction of legislative amendments supported by executive procedures to develop real estate financing activity, and to study the proposals of real estate developers regarding the necessity of establishing a real estate exchange in Egypt, and trading securities based on real estate through that exchange, in a way that helps in efficiency. Pricing for real estate units, and helps the entry and exit of foreign investors through indirect real estate investments, and the provision of many lands and properties in various regions across the Republic for investment in hard currency, provided that buyers in foreign currencies are granted special privileges in real estate financing and in facilitating registration procedures and tax exemptions, in addition to To establish a body or company specialized in real estate exports that aims to market Egyptian real estate abroad and provide facilities to foreign investors.
The senator called for issuing a new law to regulate real estate exports that aims to provide guarantees to foreign investors and facilitate the purchase process. Real estate, and providing incentives to foreign investors such as tax exemption, providing residency, and expanding the establishment of real estate exhibitions outside Egypt at the international level with the aim of attracting many foreigners to invest in Egypt, as well as raising real estate development standards by developers to meet the requirements of foreign markets, which will lead to Effectively improving the quality of development, in addition to increasing competitiveness in the market and changing the type of development based on the largest international demand, ensuring the presence of real estate products that suit the needs of the foreign investor, solving problems and obstacles to exporting Egyptian real estate abroad and providing facilities for both Egyptians abroad and foreigners to purchase real estate, and facilitating procedures. Registering real estate for foreigners in the Real Estate Registry, which enumerates among the most prominent obstacles to export, and the necessity of activating the national number system for all real estate, enhancing cooperation between the government and Egyptian real estate development companies to make the real estate export experience a success, and providing the necessary information about the Egyptian real estate market through creating an electronic real estate platform or website and materials. A promotional campaign explaining the investment opportunities available in the Egyptian real estate market.
El-Guindy concluded the proposal, saying: Hence, we propose to implement the idea of exporting Egyptian real estate in dollars, by selling the real estate to foreigners or Egyptians residing abroad, and therefore it is necessary to move in steps. Quick and thoughtful in all aspects of the real estate export file; To maximize the economic benefits, he called for the speedy referral of the proposal to the relevant specific committee in the Council for discussion in the presence of relevant government officials.
