Egypt’s Palm Hills Developments said total new reservations soared 86 percent in the first quarter and contract cancellations continued to fall, signaling a rebound in Egypt’s real estate market.
Cancellations tumbled 70 percent to pre-crisis levels of LE 186 million ($33 million) and reservations rose to LE 773 million, Palm Hills said on Monday.
Egypt’s real estate sector has fared relatively well compared with other regional markets thanks to resilient local demand for housing and office space and insulation from international credit markets.
"Generally, all the real estate players in Egypt are seeing a rebound in sales in 2010," analyst Hisham Halaldeen at investment bank Naeem said. "Given the year-on-year comparison is against one of the worst quarters, first-quarter 2010 numbers across the board are expected to look good."
Palm Hills had said on Sunday it made a net profit of LE 107 million in the first quarter of 2010, up 75 percent from a year earlier.
The company sells homes off-plan, or before they are built, and does not recognize some revenue on products such as apartments and multi-tenant buildings until they are delivered.
