Off-plan apartments in Egypt: choosing the unit
Once you have chosen the developer, the money is made or lost on which specific unit you pick and in which phase. Early phases are cheaper and riskier; the best units in each phase go before public launch.
This page assumes you have already read the off-plan mechanics and decided a developer is worth the risk. What follows is the apartment-level decision: phase, floor, orientation, layout and exit.
Phases and pricing
Large compounds release in phases over years. Early phases are priced lowest and carry the most uncertainty; later phases cost more and buy into a partly delivered environment you can actually inspect.
| Phase | Price | What you are taking on |
|---|---|---|
| Launch / phase 1 | Lowest | Entire project risk; years of construction around you; no infrastructure yet |
| Mid phases | Middle | Some delivery visible; earlier phases show the real build quality |
| Final phases | Highest | Amenities delivered, neighbours in place, less upside |
A useful discipline: if phase one of a compound has already been delivered, go and look at it before buying into phase three. It is the only honest preview you will get.
Choosing the unit on plan
- Orientation. North-facing is the summer priority in Egypt. A west-facing living room takes the full afternoon sun for months.
- What the view actually faces after full build-out. Ask for the master plan, not the render, and find out what goes up in front of your balcony in phase four.
- Floor. In Egypt, ground floors with gardens and top floors with terraces carry premiums; the floors immediately above a commercial or amenity level carry noise.
- Proximity to the clubhouse, mosque, gate and main spine road — convenient from a distance, noisy up close.
- Layout on paper: corridor waste, whether the reception is usable as one space, whether bedrooms share a wall with a neighbour's living room, whether the kitchen has a service balcony.
- Parking allocation: how many spaces, whether deeded or assigned, whether covered.
Area tolerance and the final price
Off-plan apartment contracts specify a contracted area and allow the delivered area to vary within a tolerance band, with the price adjusted at a stated rate. Read both numbers. A wide band with an unfavourable adjustment mechanism is a one-way bet against you — and at delivery the difference is real money.
Also confirm whether the quoted area is net internal or gross including a share of common areas. The same apartment can be described in two numbers differing by ten per cent or more.
Reselling before delivery
Selling an off-plan unit before handover is done by assignment — التنازل — and it needs the developer's approval and usually a transfer fee, sometimes a percentage of the original price. Some contracts prohibit assignment until a set proportion of the price has been paid.
If exiting before delivery is part of your plan, read that clause before you sign anything, and price the transfer fee into your expected return. Many investors discover it after the fact and find their margin has gone.
Owner listings on this site
Common questions
Should I buy in the first phase of a compound?
Only if you are comfortable with the developer's record and can wait through years of construction. The discount is compensation for real risk, not free money.
What is a transfer fee on an off-plan resale?
A fee the developer charges to approve an assignment to a new buyer, often calculated as a percentage of the unit price. It can consume a large part of a short-term gain.
How do I know what the view will be?
Ask for the approved master plan and the building heights of the later phases, not the marketing render. Renders routinely omit what has not been built yet.
Last reviewed September 2026. Prices, tax rates, residency thresholds and ownership rules in Egypt change frequently — verify anything you are relying on.