High ROI property investment in Egypt: doing the arithmetic
Most advertised ROI figures for Egyptian property are gross yields in Egyptian pounds with no vacancy, costs or currency adjustment. Correct for all four and the number typically halves.
This page is deliberately arithmetic rather than argument. If you want the broader case for and against the asset, or the cost and exit analysis, those are linked below. Here the question is narrower: how do you work out what a specific unit will actually return.
Gross yield, net yield, and total return
Three different numbers, routinely conflated by sellers.
- Gross yield = annual rent ÷ purchase price. Ignores everything. This is almost always the advertised figure.
- Net yield = (annual rent − all operating costs − vacancy) ÷ (purchase price + acquisition costs). This is what you actually receive.
- Total return = net yield + capital appreciation, measured in the currency you care about, after disposal costs.
A unit advertised at 12% gross can easily be 5–6% net, and low single digits in dollar terms once the pound moves.
The deductions people omit
| Deduction | Notes |
|---|---|
| Vacancy | The largest single omission. A short-let is not occupied 365 nights; a long-let has voids between tenants. |
| Management | A percentage of gross for a long-let; substantially more for short-let management. |
| Service charge | Indexed and rising; in compounds this is a major deduction. |
| Real estate tax | Assessed on rental value above a threshold. |
| Income tax on rent | Payable in Egypt, and possibly at home depending on your tax residence. |
| Maintenance and replacement | Egyptian heat, dust and hard water are hard on finishes and appliances. |
| Acquisition costs | 5–8% on the denominator, not zero. |
| Furnishing depreciation | For a short-let, furniture is a consumable on a 3–5 year cycle. |
Realistic ranges
Broad orientation as of September 2026, before tax and after normal vacancy:
- Long-let apartments in main Cairo and Giza districts: gross yields in the mid single digits are typical; net lands materially below that.
- Long-let in prime districts such as Zamalek and Maadi: lower gross yield, because capital values are high relative to rents, offset by better tenant quality and stronger capital resilience.
- Short-let in Hurghada, El Gouna and Sahl Hasheesh: higher gross figures are achievable under active management, with meaningful management cost and seasonality against them. This is a business, not a passive holding.
- North Coast: high peak-season rates, very short season. Annualised, frequently disappointing relative to expectations.
Treat any advertised figure above these ranges as a claim to be checked against actual booking data or actual signed leases, not a projection.
The currency correction
Do the whole calculation twice: once in pounds, once in your own currency. A unit returning 9% net in pounds during a year when the pound loses 20% against the dollar returned about −13% to a dollar investor.
The exception worth seeking: rent collected in hard currency. Resort short-lets paid by foreign guests are the main route to that, which is why the Red Sea attracts foreign investors despite higher operating effort.
A five-minute sanity check on any listing
- Find three comparable units actually let nearby — not asking rents, signed ones.
- Take the lowest, not the average.
- Assume two months' vacancy a year for a long-let, or half the advertised occupancy for a short-let.
- Subtract service charge, management, tax and an annual maintenance allowance.
- Divide by the price plus 7%.
- Convert to your own currency at today's rate and ask whether the number still justifies the illiquidity.
Owner listings on this site
Common questions
What is a good ROI for property in Egypt?
Net yields in the mid single digits in pounds are a realistic outcome in the main urban markets. Anything advertised well above that is usually a gross figure with no vacancy or costs deducted.
Which Egyptian city has the highest rental yield?
Red Sea resort areas produce the highest gross figures through short-letting, but with the highest operating cost and effort. Cairo and Giza long-lets are lower and steadier.
Does property in Egypt beat inflation?
In Egyptian pounds it generally has. In hard currency the record is much weaker, because a large share of the pound-denominated gain reflected devaluation.
Last reviewed September 2026. Prices, tax rates, residency thresholds and ownership rules in Egypt change frequently — verify anything you are relying on.