Propertastic's Complete Guide to Hurghada Property and Egypt's Red Sea Real Estate

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propertastic

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It's finally here - the long-anticipated Propertastic's Complete Guide to Hurghada Property and Egypt's Red Sea Real Estate.

Apologies for the long delay since I first mentioned it. I couldn't stop adding more and more to it until it's ended up as a complete monster.

The Guide now features:

* 25,000 words
* 87 pages
* 40 pictures
* 5 maps
* 35 different developments:

Al-Ahyaa Villas
Al Dora Residence
Al-Rivera City
Azzurra at Sahl Hasheesh
British Resort
Coral Pearl
Delano Beach at Sahl Hasheesh
Desert Pearl
Egyptian Pearl
El Andalous at Sahl Hasheesh
El Gouna
El Khayam Resort
European Village
Hurghada Dreams
Hurghada Marina
Jewel in the Crown
Lotus
Lotus Breeze
Manta Resort
Oasis Resort
Ocean Breeze at Sahl Hasheesh
Palm Beach Piazza at Sahl Hasheesh
Palma Resort
Paradise Hills
Pyramids 2
Red Sea Pearl at Sahl Hasheesh
Red Sea Pharaoh
Red Sea Residenica
Regency Beach
Regency Towers
Royal Manta
Royal Mirage
Sara’s Residence
Sea Land
Suleder Resort
The View

If you are at all considering purchasing in the Hurghada region, you'd be a fool to miss it as it makes comparing the competing projects easily. Whatever type of property you're looking for, from a GBP15,400 studio up to a GBP406,000 luxury villa, there's a property in the Guide that's just right for you.

And best of all, it's totally free!

All that we ask is that you register for free on the Propertastic! site.

Just click on the linkbelow for more information and to be reading the Guide in a matter of a couple of minutes.

 
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distant dreamer

New Member
Hi Propertastic,

What a fabulous guide you have done. Congratulations. An excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon taking in all that information. I'm sure many future purchasers will find it an excellent source. Thank you so much
 
RedSeaVision.com

RedSeaVision.com

New Member
Very informative guide. I printed it off and will read it in its entirety on the plane to Hurghada this week. Thank you!
 
Peter Mitry

Peter Mitry

<B>Egypt Forum Founder Member</B>
Great report Nick and what a feat! To see so much on one visit and to retain sufficient information to prepare a document like this is a credit to you and a big help to the rest of us.
 
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awahee123

Banned
Yes what an excellent report well done,this will undoubtedly help people who have never been to Hurghada before.
However my personal advice will always be do not buy until you have been and seen, it really is that simple.
 
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propertastic

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Many thanks for the kind words, everyone. It makes it all worthwhile.

My next task will be to see if there is any press or magazine publisher that might be interested in running a cut down version of it, or a book publisher in the market for a Buyer's Guide.

If anyone here has any contacts in these areas, please can you PM me?

Obviously the more publicity there is for the region, the more interest will be generated and the better it will be for everyone.

Yes what an excellent report well done,this will undoubtedly help people who have never been to Hurghada before.
However my personal advice will always be do not buy until you have been and seen, it really is that simple.
This is absolutely correct. I would be horrified if someone bought blind simply as a result of reading a review from my report as it is no substitute for seeing a place yourself. There's no way that I could cover every single development so comprehensively.

There was a lot I had to leave out. Payment terms vary a great deal from one developer to another, for example. And another thing to mention is that the public beaches vary a great deal. Some look like they are off a Bounty commercial; others look like a building site in Dagenham.

My recommendation to anyone would be to use the Guide to whittle down the options from over 30 to perhaps three or so and then for someone to fly over there and see each of them. That would really give a potential buyer complete peace of mind that he or she had get the very best deal that's right for his or her circumstances.
 
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awahee123

Banned
It is an excellent guide best one so far, maybe you can keep adding to it as hurghada develops.
You must have spent a lot of time on it and it's certainly well worth a read.
Thanks once again I will be recommending it .
 
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flip

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Thanks Proptastic for your guide it makes good reading.

Have you bought anything in Egypt yet? if not why is this?

I still like the buying a shop idea any more info on this side of things.
 
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propertastic

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It is an excellent guide best one so far, maybe you can keep adding to it as hurghada develops.
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Although I would love to keep it current, unfortunately it would just take too much time to keep abreast of all 35 developments, plus new ones that come along.

There were already a few changes over the few weeks that I was writing it (i.e. Sea Land selling out). It can only be 2-3 weeks before Regency Towers and Desert Pearl are also fully sold as well as there are under 10 units left in both.

So unfortunately it will have to remain a snapshot in time.
 
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awahee123

Banned
Re : Hurghada guide

Although I would love to keep it current, unfortunately it would just take too much time to keep abreast of all 35 developments, plus new ones that come along.

There were already a few changes over the few weeks that I was writing it (i.e. Sea Land selling out). It can only be 2-3 weeks before Regency Towers and Desert Pearl are also fully sold as well as there are under 10 units left in both.

So unfortunately it will have to remain a snapshot in time.


Its a shame as it is very informative to all who are interested in Hurghada.
Anyway job well done.
 
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propertastic

New Member
Proptastic have you bought anything in Egypt yet? if not why is this?

I still like the buying a shop idea any more info on this side of things.
This question strikes a raw nerve, I'm afraid.

The story is this:

My (now ex-)girlfriend and I bought a couple of apartments under market value in this delightful 1960's Communist blockhouse in Latvia's 3rd largest city, Liepaja, during the course of 2005.



We got the pair of them for the princely sum of GBP20,000.

After full renovation on one of them, they were up to GBP60,000 by the end of 2006.

It was at this point that I thought that this was some crazy money for some rubbish old apartments and that there was a bubble in Latvia and we should sell up and buy someplace else.

Exactly where, I didn't know at that time and Propertastic! came about because I couldn't find one source of information that allowed me to compare all of the emerging markets side-by-side. It was while making the research for Propertastic! that I came across Egypt for the first time and couldn't believe how cheap everything was.

I told my girlfriend that we should sell up and invest in Egypt then. Unfortunately, while I am probably too impulsive by nature, she is a great procrastinator, and the situation wasn't helped by the fact that she became my ex-girlfriend over this period.

The result was that we didn't do anything with the properties.

Sadly, my thoughts regarding the great Latvian property bubble came all too true from March 2007 and prices dropped like a stone. The two properties are down to GBP40,000 - and that's if a buyer can be found at all.

Now had we gone head with my plan - sold up and bought a couple of properties in Hurghada instead in Jan 2007 (I'd have probably bought something at The View and maybe Regency Towers back in those days),I'm pretty sure that the GBP60,000 would now be up to GBP80,000.

So her procrastination has cost us GBP40,000 in a period of nine months.

Oh well, can't win them all, I suppose.

But onto the shop. I have to admit that I have done no more research on it - I know that commercial is a bit of a different ballgame from residential.

But if I had some money to invest right now, I mentioned it in the Guide, but I reckon it's a surefire winner, and that's a really good British/Irish pub in the middle of what I refer to as 'Little Britain', which, for those of you who haven't downloaded and looked at the report yet (shame on you all!) looks like this:



Let's count up how many apartments will be there when it's all finished:

Desert Pearl = 400
Suleder = 400
British Resort = 400
Coral Sea Pearl = 180
Regency Towers = 80
Lotus = 400 (a guess, but it looks big)
Red Sea Pharaoh = 45
Sara's Residence = 45
Desert Rose 2 + Misc = 200

So you basically have over 2000 apartments coming online over the next couple of years. Two people per apartment = 4000 people.

That's a fair-sized English village you have there - an English village that would be served by perhaps 2-3 pubs?

I hear ex-pats already moaning that they can't get bacon in Egypt (it's not illegal - just that the muslims can't eat it so it isn't served). Spirits are also hard expensive when served in clubs, but not that expensive to buy in bulk. Have a little shop next to it selling your PG Tips, Heinz baked beans and Kelloggs cornflakes and all the other things British ex-pats miss and someone will have got themselves a nice little cash cow.

If anyone does it, just remember me when you've made your first million from it will you!?
 
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awahee123

Banned
LOL......

I really wouldnt want to be the first person to suggest importing bacon or any pork products into Egypt, good luck to whoever does as the market is wide open here, I believe the rules for importing meat have been relaxed at the moment due to a shortage of chicken,lamb etc.

Turkey has just about opened up to Bacon even though it was available in a small way from a few years back. I think you will find religion may restrict the handling of pork products,however having said that I did see quite a few Egyptian locals enjoying the local Stella which is also supposed to be a no go.
Regarding the shop idea please correct me if im wrong but I think you may have to have an Egyptian partner,I'm not 100% maybe someone can enlighten us....
 
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propertastic

New Member
Having done a quick Google, I came across this one chain that is openly selling pork products:

If one want a beer or a bottle of wine at any time, Maison Thomas is the place to go to. This outlet sells all kinds of beers and wines and it is open 24 hours per day. Thomas has been in Egypt since 1922. They are also one of the few places that sell many kinds of pork, including Ham, Bacon, Mortadella, Salami, and others. They are also famous for their pizzas and deserts

Zamalek: 157 26 of July St. 7357057
Mohandeseen: 29 Shehab St 3036139
Maadi: Cairo-Helwan road, next to Metro super market 5243800
Helioplis: 114 Merghany St. 4192914
El Gouna: Abu Tig, Marina


From: A Boozer's Guide to Cairo (and Egypt)

So, if you can't buy bacon direct, you could always just drive up to El Gouna and buy some from their branch there.

There must be ways that foreigners can operate businesses there. I did meet Egypt's dodgiest lawyer (money-laundering is our specialty!) while I was out there. so I'm sure he could sort you out a licence!
 
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awahee123

Banned
I'm sure there is money to be made in Hurghada and Egypt as a whole,However who do you trust?. Now is certainly the time to get in as a couple of years from now the opportunities will certainly be fewer.
I also think there is something missing in the tourist sector,apart from Safari,Diving etc there seems to be little to do (excursion wise) unless you travel to either Cairo or Luxor.
 
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propertastic

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I also think there is something missing in the tourist sector,apart from Safari,Diving etc there seems to be little to do (excursion wise) unless you travel to either Cairo or Luxor.
I totally agree. This was another thought that crossed my mind while I was there.

We went to Hurghada on a cheap package through the biggest operator in Hurghada - the Russian giant, TezTour.

As far as I can see, the economics of these tour companies is to sell the packages as cheaply as possible (I tried to do the trip by buying flight tickets and accommodation seperately, but it was a lot more expensive),but then they make their money by selling excursions. This seems to be the main function of the reps.

Compared to the last cheap package we took to Turkey, they really hadn't got a lot to offer in Hurghada apart from the watersports. Trips to Cairo or Luxor required an overnight stay and were really expensive compared to the trip itself. I can't see that many people are going to abandon their rooms to pay for some more in another city.

Against my wishes, my girlfriend did rope me into going on one excursion - some kind of cheesy show with people riding horses around mockups of the pyramids. Totally rubbish and overpriced, but they had hordes of people there.

So I agree that anyone coming up with some kind of excursion or activity of appeal to tourists would do well. Sales & marketing would be very simple - you just need to do deals with all of the major tour companies - including paying them a very hefty percentage which is built into the over-inflated price in the first place - and the customers should come flooding in.
 
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awahee123

Banned
I wouldn't mind having a go here however it's finding somebody who can tell you the legality of a foreigner starting a business.
 
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GM43

Banned
pork in Hurghada

So, if you can't buy bacon direct, you could always just drive up to El Gouna and buy some from their branch there.
On this newsletter (weekly) there is an advertisement of Drifters restaurant, location: follow the street next to the telephone central in Sakalla:
spotredsea . com / newsletter / issue236 (remove the spaces)
The newest issue is: issue252

I do not eat pork, but give just the information for the ones who like to eat it.
 
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