egypt - investment or just a holiday home

[shorty1h]

we bought a studio in sharm - price eqivalrnt to 5 years holidays.
why did anyone else buy?
Is it really an investment?
does anyone really believe its not dead money?
lets be realistic - i read the forum and people thinks its going to make them
lots of money.
How?,Why?when? Where? - ask these questions.
Its a fantastic place for a holiday.
Its eqivalent to buying a car and believing you can still sell it and
make money.
Am i wrong?. Convince me?
Dont get me wrong,I hope it works for everone but this is like buying shares - the price is right - but dont expect that it will make money.
Discuss -convince me?

 

[distant dreamer]

Hi

I think there is definitely money to be made, but you need to be careful where you buy. For example if we'd bought about 6 years ago when we first thought about it we would be the proud owners of a large detached lagoon front villa in El Gouna. A few years down the line for a similar budget, we could only afford a small one bedroom apartment. In Sahl Hasheesh early purchasers will have done very well indeed - even though most of the projects are not yet finished. Prices people were getting in at were excellent, but again they were the ones that took the most risks, so potentially stand to gain the most. We also bought site unseen in Sahl Hasheesh and current prices are around double what we paid and its still not finished. Of course, you need to sell before you get profit, but I'm pretty certain that we would certainly make money, as it is a prime location in the resort.

 

[queenie40something]

Hi Shorty - where in Sharm have you bought?

We bought our apartment in Nabq in October and the price has increased by 20% already in the last 6 months.
We bought for £21,700 in October after a cash discount and now the same apartments are being sold for over £30,000.

This thread http://www.totallyproperty.com/egypt-property/6928-where-have-you-bought-egypt-why.html is about where have you bought in Egypt and why.

 

[Lsab]

Certainly hope you're wrong Shorty as we've bought only for investment. As Distant Dreamer says, you have to be careful where you buy. I researched for months before going ahead and purchasing on Regency Beach. I believe that there's only a finite amount of beachfront property of course, so when the time comes to sell, we should have the advantage. That's the idea anyway

 

[iain]

Well it's like any investment, the price can go up as well as down. The idea is to enjoy an investment while you have it and frankly I'd rather take a reasonable risk in Egypt with some of my pension and enjoy holidays there too. There is good potential growth and the Egyptian economy is in really good shape now (this was not always the case).

It's a bit like those who worry themselves sick about share prices - but you only gain or lose when you sell. Look mid to long term and have some fun too.

Nothing wrong with hoping property will grow in value, whilst realising there are possible downsides, political risks etc. In my opinion, Egypt has a pretty good history on that front and even when they have had tough times they have bounced back.

Look at the UK housing market now, tecnically I could lose the value of a 1 bed appt in Egypt over the next 12 months at the current rate of house price fall, but am I worried? No because I live in it and am not about to sell,

Have a couple of Stellas and chill!

Iain

 

[crombiestone]

Shorty

I agree with you .

When we bought our apartment in El Gouna we did so in the belief that we could afford to write off the purchase price if the worst happened . On paper the price has almost trebled but I think this is largely down to the British obsession with buying properties . The prices now are much higher than they should be as the developers cash in on the boom . As we are seeing with the UK housing stock price rises cannot be sustained and price falls are inevitable. I do now however,think that it is unlikely that I will lose money but people buying now may not be so lucky .


It is often mentioned that there is a finite amount of beach front on the Red Sea coast. Anyone who has travelled the Red Sea coast will know that there are still hundreds of miles of undeveloped coastlne . I would say that the number of interested buyers is more finite than the amount of coastline to build upon .Obviously some areas and developments will be more attractive than others and as such are better buys .

The sheer amount of new building going on in the Hurghada area amazes me and I struggle to see where all the buyers will come from to sustain a rising market once the novelty wears off .The average Egyptian will not be able to afford to buy an apartment and the rich ones that can afford to buy will not be buying in Hurghada .They will do so in developments like El Gouna where it is already seen as a status symbol to have property there.

Dont get me wrong I think buying the apartment was the best thing I ever did ,but as a lifestyle purchase.

If I had bought for pure investment I wouldn't be sleeping so easy.

 

[r0ckcrew]

Hi,

I bought an apartment in Regency Towers Hurghada for use by myself,family and friends.

I didnt buy it as an investment (at the end of the day you only make money if you sell it),I bought to enjoy, as I like Egypt, I like the climate and Spain doesnt do it for me.

There is a risk in Egypt as it is a new emerging market for property. I see flats I looked at 5 years ago still shells and hotel rooms are cheap - so why buy?

Not a great deal of money to lose if the brown stuff hits the fan. The big players are looking at Egypt and in the long term the outlook looks good .


/Tommy

 

[sammy1003]

Hi,

I bought an apartment in Regency Towers Hurghada for use by myself,family and friends.

I didnt buy it as an investment (at the end of the day you only make money if you sell it),I bought to enjoy, as I like Egypt, I like the climate and Spain doesnt do it for me.

There is a risk in Egypt as it is a new emerging market for property. I see flats I looked at 5 years ago still shells and hotel rooms are cheap - so why buy?

Not a great deal of money to lose if the brown stuff hits the fan. The big players are looking at Egypt and in the long term the outlook looks good .


/Tommy

Egypt is shaping up to become a great investment destination. With big players such as Emaar and DAMAC entering it strongly, the market trend will soon enough follow the Dubai style, and prices will change drastically over the coming years. Whoever bought shouldn't think of selling for at least 12 month. Big things are coming your way.

Sammy

 

[realestatemart]

Both

I believe egypt is both good investment and amazing Holiday home as in return of investment it coud happened that you have 100% progit on your investment, and as holiday home it have sun all year long, amazing sea and underwater life, amazing weather, amazing people, 2-3 hours flight away of home, find all what you need around you what else could you need more than this

 

[vix]

The same was said about Dubai 12 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sheer amount of new building going on in the Hurghada area amazes me and I struggle to see where all the buyers will come from to sustain a rising market once the novelty wears off .The average Egyptian will not be able to afford to buy an apartment and the rich ones that can afford to buy will not be buying in Hurghada .They will do so in developments like El Gouna where it is already seen as a status symbol to have property there.

Dont get me wrong I think buying the apartment was the best thing I ever did ,but as a lifestyle purchase.

If I had bought for pure investment I wouldn't be sleeping so easy.[/QUOTE]

 

[crombiestone]

The same was said about Dubai 12 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dubai is VERY different to egypt . The UAE is a very rich country and Egypt just isn't .

Even so many say Dubai isn't a good buy now so who will buy the 1000's of apartments that people want to resell for a profit .There is massive oversupply and there are so many tower blocks I think it looks quite ugly especially the Marina .

You are better comparing Egypt to Turkey or Bulgaria.

 

[ThomasCurtains]

I agree with Crombiestone on this. As far as I can see Dubai is probably attracting a lot more investors who will never even visit the place whereas Egypt especially down the coast is more buy to live or visit regularly which creates a good vibe I think. And people will make money on their investment as well I'm sure.

 

[MrSkipsey]

Im buying purely for a lifestyle investment. Id love to eventually live in Hurghada as a full time resident.
So therefore the profit resale is of no importance to me. Id love it to increase in value which as far as Im aware it no doubtly will but to sell up and have a large sum in my pocket and still not be able to get on the property ladder in the UK just isnt for me!

 

[realestatemart]

Im buying purely for a lifestyle investment. Id love to eventually live in Hurghada as a full time resident.
So therefore the profit resale is of no importance to me. Id love it to increase in value which as far as Im aware it no doubtly will but to sell up and have a large sum in my pocket and still not be able to get on the property ladder in the UK just isnt for me!

I think its life every one of us has his own interest, neds, purchasing powers and points of view so different products has different clients categories

 

[dave99]

Investment only is not the best way to go

.
The potential for making money is there in any developming market, and Hurghada is certainly getting up the list of places to buy.

there's no doubt that the so called premium resorts appear to be a safer bet for investment but that mean a very much larger overall cost compared to most other places in Hurghada, and the real growth will go to the biggest risk takers who bought some time ago.

In most developments it should be easy to make at least 10% a year for at least two years during development, often much more if you take advantage of the early buyer discounts. There is always a risk in buying anything offplan anywhere in the world but this forum is proving that there has so far been very little serious bad news of people losing all their money, which is more than can be said for Spain.

Buying for own use is great value compared to almost anywhere in the world given year round sun and WARM SEAS. There is still much to come for the Red Sea area, not least of which lower airfare from the UK.
.

 

[Jeremy Sturgess]

.
The potential for making money is there in any developming market, and Hurghada is certainly getting up the list of places to buy.

there's no doubt that the so called premium resorts appear to be a safer bet for investment but that mean a very much larger overall cost compared to most other places in Hurghada, and the real growth will go to the biggest risk takers who bought some time ago.

In most developments it should be easy to make at least 10% a year for at least two years during development, often much more if you take advantage of the early buyer discounts. There is always a risk in buying anything offplan anywhere in the world but this forum is proving that there has so far been very little serious bad news of people losing all their money, which is more than can be said for Spain.




Buying for own use is great value compared to almost anywhere in the world given year round sun and WARM SEAS. There is still much to come for the Red Sea area, not least of which lower airfare from the UK.
.

I think you are right Dave. When the low cost airlines get here it will transform the second homes market. Where I lived in France the arrival of Ryanair to Carcassonne in 1999 transformed the area and house prices.That and the mortgage availability issue will be very big drivers for this market in future.