Egypt: Housing a priority

For many years, one of the greatest challenges Egypt has faced has been providing housing for its growing, youthful population. Indeed, the lack of decent housing for those in the lower- to middle-income bracket is thought to have been one of the triggers of last year’s revolution. The newly installed government, headed by Mohammad Morsy, is likely to make the housing shortfall a priority.

Estimates of Egypt’s housing shortage vary but all agree that it is large, with most assessments putting the figure between 1m and 1.5m units. According to Mohamed El Mikawi, the managing director of Al Futtaim Group Real Estate in Egypt, demand is growing by around 300,000 units per year.

Egypt’s population is not only the largest in the Arab world, it is also growing quickly, at a rate topping 1.5%, according to the World Bank. Almost 40% of the population is under the age of 18, so long-term demand for new units is assured. Marriages, which also provide a useful indicator for gauging demand, paint an encouraging forecast for the coming years, with more than 860,000 new marriages in 2011 alone. This helps provide a rosy long-term outlook but equally increases pressure on providing short-term and immediate solutions to stem a rise in illegal construction.