Cairo Capital Development Company, a sister company of Brickzey Property Management, intends to launch a new project in Sheikh Zayed, west of Cairo, next month on 22 feddans, according to Brickzey CEO Ahmed Selim.
Daily News Egypt sat down with Selim to learn about the company’s expansion and marketing plans. The transcript for the interview follows, lightly edited for clarity.
What are the details of the new project that the company will launch?
Next month, the company will launch a new project in the city of Sheikh Zayed, west Cairo, on 22 feddans and it includes 110 villas.
What is the value of the project’s expected sales?
We expect achieving sales of EGP 600m and we will begin construction works during the current year.
What are other projects you plan to launch this year?
After Eid Al-Fitr, the company will launch the first phase of the Infinity project, with expected sales of EGP 700m in the current year and a similar value in 2019. The project includes 300 hotel units and is located close to the Grand Egyptian Museum. The consulting has been assigned to a global engineering office.
It is expected that the area surrounding the museum will attract large investments during the coming period as the state revives its development and is redesigning it to suit its historical position. The airport in Sixth of October will also operate, which will attract tourist delegations to the region and re-operate the hotels surrounding Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum.
What is the value of sales achieved by Brickzey Property Management?
The company achieved sales exceeding EGP 1bn since the beginning of the year and aims to achieve sales over the current year exceeding EGP 4bn with the addition of a number of new projects that are being developed by Cairo Capital Development.
Brickzey started its activity five years ago in real estate marketing and added consulting and project management services to its activities. Furthermore, the company established Cairo Capital Development Company in the current year as a sister company to represent its project development arm.
What is the status of Arabia Holding’s Arabiano project that your company is exclusively marketing?
Sales of the Arabiano project exceeded the timetable and are expected to be completed by October, according to the contract.
In mid-March, Brickzey Property Management celebrated with Arabia Holding the signing of a contract for the former to market the Arabiano project in Hadayek October exclusively.
Arabiano, one of Arabia Holding’s projects, consists of 46 buildings (750 units) and is located on an area of 20 feddans (84,000 sqm) and is close to medical, entertainment, and educational services such as Zewail City of Science and Technology, New Zamalek Club, Mall of Egypt, and the Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC), and is also very close to El Wahat main road.
What are other projects that the company exclusively markets?
The Primavera project in the city of Sixth of October. It includes 400 units with areas between 90 sqm and 180 sqm per unit. Moreover, the company exclusively marketed La Fontana project that included 240 units in Hadayek October with spaces ranging between 90 sqm and 180 sqm per unit.
What is the company’s expansion plan in coastal areas?
The company is negotiating to buy land in Ain Sokhna by acquiring the company that owns the land to establish a hotel project in light of the large demand in that area throughout the year. Sales ther are not only related to the summer season.
Do you plan to acquire loans from banks?
Cairo Capital relies on self-financing to implement its projects as well as proceeds from sales. Bank borrowing is not included in residential projects, but can be used in hotel projects, which require large liquidity injections in the construction phases before obtaining returns from the project after its operation.
Does the month of Ramadan affect sales?
Sales movement was not affected by Ramadan because it coincided with the main season of the real estate market, during the summer months, coupled with the rise in demand in recent months which has continued at the same rate in light of fears of more price hikes during the coming period.
What are your expectations for price increases in the current year?
I expect an increase of 30% in prices during the current year with the expected increase in cost in light of partial cutting of petroleum product and electricity subsidies. That, in addition to the expected increase in demand for purchases for the purpose of investment because real estate is still the safe haven to invest in.
What are customers’ preferences when purchasing property?
Customers prefer compound projects, even with small units, which enjoy a variety of services and a higher degree of security, in return for declining demand for separate buildings in new cities.
What are available periods of installments for purchasing units?
Payment periods set by companies are usually linked to the delivery dates. In cases of delivery within two years, the payment period does not exceed five years and exceeds eight years for companies that deliver their units after four years to maintain an appropriate proportion of cash flow relative to the value of the unit before the completion of implementation.
What are areas that will witness high demand in the coming period?
Madinaty, the New Administrative Capital, and Hadayek October will lead the demand during the coming period, especially with the state offering its units in the capital as well as the offering by Talaat Moustafa Group for its project in the capital. In addition, high infrastructure completion rates in the capital has prompted customers to buy units in the new capital. New launches by a number of senior developers has also increased demand. Nevertheless, Hadayek October has seen high demand after the launch of Sun Capital and a new project by Palm Hills, as the involvement of large companies in that area raises demand, as well as motivates more developers to invest in the city.
Reducing unit spaces aims to attract new segments of customers to developers’ projects, increasing sales rates and completion of the development process. Additionally, the demand is increasing for medium-sized units.
How do you see the city of New Alamein?
New Alamein represents a qualitative leap in the strategy of development projects in the North Coast, exploiting the land in an integrated way instead of the resorts spread along the coast, which are being visited only two months a year, despite the huge amounts spent on the facilities by the state as well as the investments pumped by the developers.
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