Egypt becomes MENA’s 3rd-largest construction hub

The report highlighted $120 billion worth of awarded construction contracts in Egypt, with an additional $565.5 billion in the pipeline, driven largely by rising foreign direct investment from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sovereign wealth funds.

“Egypt’s transformation into a regional real estate powerhouse is well underway,” said Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Research for MENA, at the report’s launch. 

He pointed to Abu Dhabi’s ADQ-backed $35 billion North Coast super-city (170 million sqm), the $1 billion Grand Egyptian Museum, and record-breaking tourism inflows of 15.8 million visitors in 2024 as signs of strong momentum.

Knight Frank’s survey of 264 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) across the GCC, Europe, and the US showed $1.4 billion in targeted private capital for Egypt’s residential sector.

Greater Cairo alone has 244,000 homes available across 155 projects, with 30,830 units set for delivery in 2025, up 29 percent from 2024.

Property values continue to surge, particularly in Sheikh Zayed, where prices have jumped 24.7 percent since January 2024 to $1,964 per sqm.

“We are tracking 104 projects slated for completion in 2028-2029, compared with just eight projects annually in 2026-2027, pointing to short-term supply constraints that could push prices higher,” said Zeinab Adel, partner and head of Egypt.

New Zayed and New Cairo remain the most expensive submarkets, with villas in New Cairo averaging $3,270 per sqm. Buyer-friendly financing, average down payments of 7.2 percent and repayment periods stretching up to 8.5 years, is further fuelling demand.