EGYPTEgypt has history, scenery, sun and lots of tourists - and it's cheap. With apartments from as little as €20,000, it's tipped as the next property hotspot, writes Fiona Tyrrell
WITH guaranteed winter sun and prices as low as €20,000, it is no surprise that Egypt is being touted to overseas buyers as the next property hotspot.
Egypt has captured the imagination of world travellers for centuries. A six-hour flight from Ireland, Egypt is a relatively close "exotic location" at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East.
Its 5,000 years of history, great resorts and fantastic scenery are among the attractions that lure over nine million tourists to the north African country every year.
In 2006, over 22,000 of those were Irish. For northern Europeans the climate, with average maximum summer temperatures of 37 degrees and minimum winter temperatures of 14 degrees on the Red Sea coast, is one of the biggest draws.
As in Greece, Turkey, Morocco and Spain, a flurry of property development has followed hot on the heels of significant tourism growth. This boom is in its infancy and this is reflected in prices.
Entry level is as low as €20,000 for one-bedroom apartments and beachfront units cost from €50,000.
With strong growth in tourism figures, Egypt is being billed as an emerging property market where buyers can pick up a bargain, enjoy some sun-soaked holidays and benefit from good capital growth.
The Egyptian government has an ambitious 10-year programme to double tourist numbers from eight million in 2004, to 16 million by 2014. 2007 saw more than a 22 per cent increase in visitors.
Meanwhile it has also introduced reforms designed to attract foreign investment such as reducing stamp duty and abolishing capital gains and inheritance taxes.
Property development in Egypt is focused along the so-called Red Sea Riviera, where many of the country's biggest resorts are located. The Italians were the first to buy in Egypt and have had a presence in the Red Sea for over 10 years. The Russians and Germans were the next to arrive.
Now property development is getting underway in earnest and UK, German and Irish buyers keen to get an affordable second home to soak up some winter sun are seen as the most likely buyers. Overseas sales agent The Right Move Abroad is currently selling property at four developments in Egypt.
Three of these are in Hurghada, which in the last 20 years has been transformed from a small fishing village to a bustling resort where cheap holidays and good diving are the main attractions.
While desert sunsets, Nile cruises and ancient treasures have historically been Egypt's big draws, the coral reefs in the Red Sea - the closest tropical reefs to Europe - are fast making the area a top water sports destination.
The Regency Beach Resort aims to take advantage of the phenomenal growth in water sports tourism in Hurghada. The scheme is due to be completed in 2010 and British, Irish and German buyers have purchased units in earlier phases. The scheme is positioned 8kms from both Hurghada and the luxury El Gouna resort.
The beachfront scheme of 190 apartments will have five bars and restaurants and a 20-unit shopping mall. Prices start at €38,353 for a 46sq m (495sq ft) studio. A 92sq m (990sq ft) one or two-bedroom unit costs from €76,705 and three-bedroom apartments with 138sq m (1,485sq ft) are priced from €115,058.
The scheme will have its own diving school and a coral reef is located just 200m from the shore. Prices are even lower in Hurghada itself where development is taking place at a frenetic pace. The Right Move Abroad is selling units at Regency Continental, an entry-level product currently under construction. It is in a built-up area in walking distance of Hurghada's main retail strip.
Prices start at €23,614 for a studio apartment and go up to €61,543 for a three-bedroom unit. Buyers can avail of facilities at other Regency schemes.
Other schemes in the pipeline under the Regency brand include the more exclusive Regency Heights development, which will comprise around 80 units on a fantastic hillside site overlooking the sea in the Hadaba area.
Prices are expected to start at around €30,000.
The downside for Irish buyers interested in buying in Hurghada is that there are no direct flights there. The option is to either fly to London, where there is no shortage of flights to Egypt, or get a direct flight to Sharm El Sheikh and catch a ferry to Hurghada.
Sharm El Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula is a more exclusive resort where prices are a little higher.
Although properties in Egypt are sold as freehold to foreigners, those on the Sinai Peninsula can only be purchased on a renewable 99-year leasehold basis.
Tourist development was initiated by the Israelis on the Sinai Peninsula back in the 1970s and continued by the Egyptian government when the peninsula was handed back in the early 1980s.
The Right Move Abroad is selling units at the Gold Sharm Resort in Sharm El Sheikh where prices start at €45,240 for a studio and go up to €130,500 for a three-bedroom unit.
The developer is offering an optional 8 per cent rental return at Gold Sharm for a three-year period, with four weeks a year set aside for personal use.
