About 67% of Egyptian families own housing units, which is one of the highest rates of housing ownership in the world, said Maria Hawk, Regional Director Secondary Schools & Board Development at the World Bank.
She added that Cairo is one of the largest cities in the world in regard with housing units owned by individuals, recording 60%.
On the rent system, Hawk said that according to a survey conducted on 10,300 Egyptian families, of whom 25% live in housing units with old rent contracts, and 12% live in housing units with new rent contracts. About 12% of the participants in the survey are outside Cairo.
According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Housing; the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics; and the World Bank, the average new rent contract reaches EGP 650 per month, while the average old rent contract is only EGP 50 per month.
Moreover, CEO of Mortgage Finance Fund (MFF) Mai Abdel Hamid said, during a Monday press conference, that families living in houses with new rent contracts allocate 22.5% of their income for the rent, while those living in houses with old rent allocate only 3% of their income for the rent, according to the study conducted on a number of citizens within the social housing programme.
She elaborated that only 10% of Egyptians prefer renting housing units, and 27.2% prefer living in new cities, with the most in demand cities are Badr, Shorouk, Obour, and New Cairo.
The study revealed that the majority of the participants in the survey prefer old rent contracts, which are found mainly in rural areas, and the average rent is EGP 761 monthly.
Hawk noted that “the number of citizens who change their places of living is very small.”
“40% of families lived in their houses for 20 years and have no desire to move,” according to the study.
Hawk elaborated that most of the Egyptians prefer to live near their families, representing 47% of the population.
Abdel Hamid noted that the demand for housing is not calculated by the people’s desire to buy, but the availability of the main determinants of purchasing, namely the income level.
