Mortgage law to revive real estate market

The mortgage law will help revive the real estate market, one of the cornerstones of the nation's economy, Minister of Housing, Mohammed Ibrahim Soliman said last week.

The new law is in accordance with government policy to guarantee decent housing for all, especially for the limited income groups, Soleiman noted.

"The state has built three million housing units over the last twenty years at an estimated cost of LE 57.6 billion.

More than three-fifths of the units can be purchased with soft loans totaling LE 13.5 billion," the Minister said at the opening of a seminar entitled "Real Estate Mortgage - Expectations and challenges", which was organized by the Society of Egyptian Engineers (SEE) in cooperation with the Housing Ministry.

The Mubarak National Youth project, comprising 73,000 units, and the future housing project with 70,000 units, are major housing schemes, Soleiman said, pointing out that conservation of agricultural land, reducing unemployment and raising GDP were his ministry's principal objectives.

"The mortgage law will enable the banking sector for the first time in its history to contract loans for house purchases and facilitate repayments," he elaborated.

The ministry is preparing for the establishment of a real estate fund and setting property valuers' organizations, in which Egyptian and foreign investment companies, and public and private banks can take part, plus an investment organization specializing in property stocks and bonds, he concluded.