Egypt: A raft of international brands are planning to expand in the Egyptian branded residential sector, joining the likes of Four Seasons, Safir, Hilton and InterContinental.
City Edge Developments CEO Amgad Hassanein told Zawya Projects that many international brands are planning to expand in the Egyptian luxury homes market. Already Four Seasons, Safir, Hilton and InterContinental have branded residences in Egypt.
IWAN Developments CEO Walid Mokhtar told Thomson Reuters Projects News that although the branded residence is a new product in the Egyptian market compared to Dubai, London and the US, “demand for this kind of property will grow in Egypt in the medium term, and local firms will create their brands. The branded homes command a premium up to 50 per cent over unbranded residences. IWAN Developments is negotiating with international brands to launch projects in the North Coast and a new project near the Grand Egyptian Museum.”
He added that the Egyptian government “has asked the developers to build approximately 40,000 hotel apartments near the Grand Egyptian Museum”.
Hisham Shokry, chairman of Rooya Group, said that adding branded residences to a mixed-use project increases its value. Investors buying branded hotel apartments, he noted, those who seek to rent the units to tourists or high-income foreigners working in Egypt, or rent them to foreign and Egyptian clients who need luxury homes and serviced apartments.In a presentation made in January event, Paul Tosteven, director, world research, Savills had pointed out that the average premium for branded residence over non-branded product stands at 35 per cent and can exceed 70 per cent in emerging markets, and stands at around 50 per cent in the Egyptian market.
Savills analysis showed the top three brands in the MENA region, based on completed and pipeline schemes, were The Address, Vida and Fairmont Residence. It said a record number of schemes opened in 2019, delivering more than 9,000 additional branded units across 21 countries. In 2020, according to the study, nearly 70 projects were due to complete before the Covid pandemic struck.
</p
