Invest-Gate wrapped up its fourth roundtable on October 16, titled “Means of Attracting Future Real Estate Investments,” under the auspices of the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, presenting a plethora of recommendations to uplift the Egyptian property sector.

Invest-Gate’s fourth roundtable brings together Egypt’s mega real estate developers and top housing officials under one roof. Its discussion leaders include Rooya Group Chairman and CEO Hisham Shoukri, Castle Development CEO Ahmed Taha Mansour, Madaar Developments Chairman and CEO Maged Salah, Vice-President of Coldwell Banker and Coldwell Banker New Homes Mohamed Banany, Managing Director of Misr Italia Properties Mohamed Hany El Assal, Khozam Developments CEO Nader Khozam, City Edge Developments CEO Amr El Kady, Tatweer Misr President and CEO Ahmed Shalaby, Iwan Developments CEO Waleed Mokhtar, Inertia CEO Ahmed El Adawy, Bahrawi Investment Company (La Hacienda) CEO Samir Bahrawi, First Group CEO Basheer Mostafa, Chairman of Mountain View Amr Soliman, Vice-President of Coldwell Banker and Coldwell Banker New Homes Mohamed Banany, CEO of Retail Banking at Commercial International Bank (CIB) Ahmed Issa, Senior Partner at Shalakany Firm Moataz El Mahdy, JLL Country Head, Egypt Ayman Sami, and Head of Strategic Consulting at JLL Mireille Azzam Vidjen.

Roundtable Members Conclude Recommendations as Follows:

Regarding Land Acquisition:

– Unified criteria should be set for land pricing and building specifications.

– The state should ease payment terms of land plots, depending on the developer’s criteria and the proposed project’s value.

– There should be one official body, preferably the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), authorized to manage the state’s land regulations, registration, and pricing.

– The government should establish a strategic annual plan for land offerings, hence granting more time for developers to be financially prepared ahead of the offering date.

– The state should boost the productivity of presented lands, given its high prices.

– Developers should examine their clients’ demand to provide high-quality units catered to different segments.

– The needs of young home buyers should be thoroughly examined since they are the most prospective clients.

– An annual marketing plan should be set for participating in international exhibitions under one pavilion, aiming at brand Egypt as an investment hub overseas.

– There should be a unified portfolio that includes all potential investment opportunities to be displayed to foreigners.

– Promotional campaigns, similar to those of tourism, should be developed to promote and market Egypt’s real estate.

– The state should create a digital identity for all real estate properties to ease its registration.

– The Egyptian property market should have regulatory authority, following suit of Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), which is a regulatory body responsible for organizing and evaluating operations related to real estate licenses and activities, while monitoring projects financially and technically, in a bid to protect local and foreign investors.

– The organization of frequent, customized promotional trips for foreign investors, albeit providing a smooth purchase process for non-Egyptian buyers, is crucial to lure more investments amid the cyclical nature of Egypt’s real estate market.

– The Ministry of Interior, along with Egyptian embassies, should be granted access to all information related to residency-for-property in Egypt.

Regarding Purchasing Power:

– More mortgage finance schemes should be introduced to boost the purchasing power of lower-income categories and increase developers’ liquidity in tandem.

– There should be an effective legislative framework for Egypt’s real estate sector to provide a fertile ground for investment.

– It is equally important for mortgage finance programs to penetrate the resale and primary markets.

– The abundant unofficial transactions should be carefully monitored to accurately measure buyers’ income levels.

– There should be a code of conduct for real estate marketers as carrying out excessive promotions and redundant phone calls turn clients off and result in negative outcomes.

– The optimum way to overcome market fragmentation is to leverage consolidation through the signing of more merging and acquisition deals.

For more information on Invest-Gate’s fourth roundtable visit: http://invest-gate.me/news/invest-gate-explores-new-real-estate-investments-means-at-4th-roundtable/