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Saturday 4 September 2010

Real estate bubble

Egypt as a developing country is going through a real estate bubble. The investment in the properties is very high and the amount of the business in the compounds, land properties, coastal resorts, apartment complexes is representing huge volume of the current Egyptian economy. It is even attracting the foreign investors to invest in the real estate in Egypt.
It was well known in Egypt between the public that the best and the most secured business is in the real estate. People where buying either apartments or lands and utilizing them or mainly freezing them as frozen assets till they reach their target price due to the appreciation value of these properties.
I think it is the time for me as well to benefit from this bubble. I will avoid the freezing of the property since I've ethical concerns about that where it is freezing the wealth which is holding the value of the money from spreading mutually between the people.
It is still puzzling for me how this real estate sector is flourishing in Egypt although the weak purchase power. apparently the only interpretation that Egypt is one of the countries where there is a considerable class in Egypt where they have their own savings but because of the limited and modest living facilities they didn't have the channel to spend their money except accumulating them in the banks.
This real estate book has withdraw the liquidity and the savings of these people by attracting them to buy properties as liabilities for living or as assets for investments.
Though the governmental officials are claiming that the real estate sector is very healthy for the economy where it is activating about 18 other industries like steel, cement, ceramic, etc, but I believe that it is not the best way to utilize the savings of the people.
Dubai was a clear example for the uncontrolled expansion of the real estate bubble and building luxurious towers without balancing that with investing in productive and revenue generating sectors like trading, industry, IT, or agriculture or services.
Same risk is potential for Egypt.
Property investing is competing with other more vital sectors to the economy and it reduces the potential of the local investors to invest in other more vital sectors for the economy.
People are resorting to the real estate sector because the other sectors are less secured or not available which is clear indication of the poverty of the investments in Egypt.
The proportionality of the real estate investment to the industrial, agricultural, services, or IT investment could work as a health check of the investment and economy of any country.

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