Property in Egypt

Yes, and freehold. Law 230/1996 lets a non-Egyptian own up to two residential properties nationwide, each under 4,000 square metres, for use by the owner and family, with resale normally restricted for five years from acquisition. Designated coastal zones are treated more generously: Prime Ministerial Resolution 548/2005 puts foreign buyers on the same footing as Egyptians for freehold in areas including Sidi Abd El Rahman and Ras El Hekma, subject to security clearances, and exempts those units from the five-year restriction. North and South Sinai remain Egyptian-only, with a 75-year usufruct for foreigners. Confirm which regime governs your development before you reserve.

It supports a residence permit, but it does not issue one. Property purchase qualifies you to apply for a renewable permit — one year from $50,000, three years from $100,000 and five years from $200,000 — and a separate citizenship-by-investment route exists at $300,000 for government-project property. In practice the price must be transferred into Egypt in foreign currency through a recognised bank, so keep the SWIFT confirmation: it is the evidence the application rests on. Thresholds and conditions change, so confirm them with counsel before you rely on them.

Buying is unusually cheap. There is no ad-valorem transfer duty on the buyer: title registration is a flat EGP 500–2,000 under Law 186/2020, plus notary and legal charges — budget roughly 1–3% for independent counsel. Annual property tax is 10% of an official assessed rental value set well below market, after a 30% residential allowance, and 2026 amendments exempt homes assessed up to EGP 100,000 a year, leaving most residential property untaxed. Rental income is taxed at progressive rates to 27.5% after a flat 50% deemed-expense deduction. On resale an individual pays a 2.5% disposal tax on the gross price in lieu of capital-gains tax.

Yes, and it is the single most important thing to understand in this market. The pound has lost roughly 85% against the dollar since 2016 and now floats near EGP 50 to the dollar, so strong Egyptian-pound price growth partly reflects devaluation rather than real appreciation. Judge any Egyptian investment in the currency you will eventually spend. The reason prime North Coast property still works is that it is a hard asset in a soft currency, on the one strip of coastline where Gulf sovereign capital, branded operators and Cairo wealth converge. Ask which currency your contract is denominated in and which currency your instalments fall due in — that answer, not the headline growth rate, decides your real return.

Ras El Hekma is the North Coast site of the largest foreign direct investment in Egypt's history: Abu Dhabi's ADQ committed US$35bn in February 2024 to build a roughly 170 km² new city, with the Egyptian state retaining a 35% stake. By 2026 the first 50 km² phase has a master developer, awarded infrastructure contracts and a planned international airport. That changes the nature of the risk — this is a sovereign-anchored programme rather than a speculative masterplan — but the long-run population and tourism targets remain projections, not commitments, and should be read as such.

It can be, with the right diligence — the risk sits in title rather than in the building. Much North Coast off-plan is held on court-validated developer contracts rather than fully registered title, and registration practice varies between developments, so Egyptian counsel should verify the developer's title to the land, the registration route for your unit and the enforceability of the delivery date before any money moves. Tie the payment schedule to construction milestones rather than the calendar, and confirm in writing what happens to your instalments if delivery slips. A branded scheme with an international operator carries a reputational discipline unbranded local stock does not, but that is not a substitute for legal review.

Yes, but since 2025 it requires a licence. Ministry of Tourism Decree No. 209 of 2025, published in the Official Gazette in May 2025, made a Holiday Home licence mandatory for any residential unit offered for short-term occupancy, renewable annually, and the unit must sit in a designated tourist area or a high-end residential compound. Decree No. 801 of 2025 added rules for buildings run wholly as holiday homes. Separately, most North Coast compounds impose their own letting rules, and many require the management company's consent before you market a unit. Confirm both before you buy.

No. Full legal title in Egypt exists only once the sale is entered at the Real Estate Publicity Department, the Shahr El Aqary. A validation judgment can substitute for the seller's signature when you come to register, but until the sale is recorded you hold contractual rights, not registered title. World Bank analysis published in 2026 found under 10 percent of Egyptian property is formally registered, so this gap is the norm rather than a red flag on one scheme. Insist your contract commits the seller to deliver registration within a stated timeframe, and check the land is already registered in the seller's name.

Through the banking system, and the paperwork begins at purchase. Since Circular 41 of the Real Estate Registration and Notarisation Authority took effect on 26 March 2024, a foreign buyer must evidence that the purchase price was transferred from abroad in foreign currency to a bank authorised by the Central Bank of Egypt, and notaries cannot complete the sale without it. Egypt applies no legal cap on transferring funds abroad and no prior Central Bank approval is needed, but your bank will ask for that inbound-transfer evidence at exit. Keep every SWIFT confirmation and bank certificate.

Plan on a five-year hold and a seasonal buyer pool. Law 230 of 1996 restricts a foreign owner from disposing of residential property for five years, with an exemption possible by Prime Ministerial decision. Sources differ on whether that clock runs from acquisition or from registration, so have your lawyer confirm the position in writing for your specific unit. Demand is also concentrated: the traditional Sahel peak has historically run roughly six to eight weeks around July and August, and while developers are working to stretch the season, the resale pool remains weighted toward Egyptian and regional buyers.