Gold Holds Below EGP 6,000 as Housing Opens November Land to Foreign Firms: A Reading of the Real Estate Market — 14 November 2026

<h2>Today's/this week's big market numbers</h2><p>The REONE platform's real estate price guide, in its review dated 11 November, recorded the following median asking prices per square metre in the main areas: New Cairo around EGP 78,654, 6th of October around EGP 83,307, Sheikh Zayed around EGP 85,227, New Zayed around EGP 94,332, and the North Coast around EGP 78,222, while the New Administrative Capital recorded the lowest median among the major cities at around EGP 52,552 per square metre — with the platform noting that these are asking prices, not completed sale prices. In land, the Ministry of Housing opened applications at the start of November for foreign companies to bid on new real estate investment opportunities in several new cities, through the New Urban Communities Authority's e-wallets, as reported today by the website Masahat, after the Authority had announced in September around 170 investment opportunities with areas starting at 1,000 square metres and exceeding 70,000 square metres for some major projects — without the announcement stating the total value of the November round or the number of plots. As for price expectations, Dr. Abdullah Lotfi, Managing Director of Livingyards Developments, expects property prices to rise between 5% and 10% over the remainder of 2026 and the start of 2027, in gradual stages tied to construction costs and building material prices, as Masrawy reported this week, pointing to a rise in the dollar of around 5% since the end of July.</p><h2>Gold today and what it means for the property decision</h2><p>Gold held steady at the start of today's Saturday trading below the EGP 6,000 mark for the second consecutive day: 21-karat gold recorded around EGP 5,960 per gram, unchanged from Friday's close, 24-karat gold around EGP 6,811, 18-karat gold around EGP 5,109, and the gold pound around EGP 47,680, as Youm7 reported this morning. That means 21-karat gold has lost around EGP 240 since the start of the week, weighed down by the sharp fall in the global ounce — hovering around $3,885 — and the retreat in the dollar exchange rate, taking the metal to its lowest level in over a year on international markets, according to the same source. Gold's link to property is direct in the Egyptian buyer's calculations: every swing in the yellow metal pushes a segment of savers to rebalance between gold and property as stores of value — and gold's loss of around 4% in a single week practically lowers the cost of switching from metal to property for anyone waiting for the moment to switch. But today's stability after days of bleeding may mean the downward wave is pausing rather than over, so switching in instalments remains the wiser decision, not in one go.</p><h2>New projects and offerings</h2><p>The headline offering today is the Ministry of Housing opening applications for foreign companies for November's investment land, through the New Urban Communities Authority's platform, with the new payment mechanism via e-wallets and SWIFT bank transfers, according to Masahat — with the website itself noting that offering land is not the same as selling or allocating it, and that assessing the real estate value of the opportunities still depends on disclosing the plots' locations, areas and prices. In the 'Beitak Fi Misr' initiative for Egyptians abroad, registration remains open since 10 November for around 4,000 units across 9 new cities, with transfers starting at $5,000 and a published price ladder from $412 per square metre in Shorouk to $1,614 in New Alamein, according to the Ministry of Housing — with the repeated official reminder that registration and transfer do not mean booking or allocation. No new private launch was announced by developers today, so this Saturday's real estate headline is unmistakably state-led: the state is opening its doors to foreign investors and to expatriates in the same week.</p><h2>A trend worth watching: the price-per-square-metre map reveals an 80% gap between two cities</h2><p>The deeper reading of this week's figures is that price per square metre alone draws a map of opportunities invisible to anyone comparing only the 'total price'. The median price per square metre in the New Administrative Capital — around EGP 52,552 according to REONE — is around 44% below New Zayed's median (EGP 94,332) and around a third below New Cairo (EGP 78,654), meaning the same budget buys around 80% more area in the Capital than in New Zayed. The reason is less the Capital being 'cheap' than the weight of under-construction supply there versus the scarcity of ready supply in Zayed — which our own catalogue reflects too, with two-thirds of units under construction. The practical meaning is twofold: first, anyone buying to move in immediately pays a clear 'readiness premium' in Zayed and New Cairo, while anyone investing for the long term gets more area per pound in the Capital — provided they can live with the delivery horizon. Second, this gap intersects this week with gold's roughly 4% drop: a buyer who held savings in gold lost part of their purchasing power per square metre in the pricier cities, while the Capital — the cheapest per square metre — stayed within budget, meaning the timing practically favours whoever compares price per square metre, not price per unit.</p><h2>From our market today</h2><p>The Dealers State catalogue currently holds 98 units with published prices: starting at EGP 1,375,000 with a median price of around EGP 10.05 million, split between 72 developer units (66 under construction and 6 ready) and 26 resale units (19 ready immediately and 7 under construction). One new unit was added today — a 125 sqm apartment in Turath Park, Obour, at EGP 1,912,500 — and entry options priced below the market median are still genuinely available for anyone searching in the right two segments and comparing price per square metre within the same project.</p><h2>A practical takeaway for buyers</h2><p>Three practical signals: first, compare price per square metre before price per unit — the gap between the New Administrative Capital (around EGP 52,552 per square metre) and New Zayed (around EGP 94,332) means the same budget buys a completely different area depending on the city. Second, gold's loss of around EGP 240 in a week lowers the cost of switching to property, but today's stability does not mean the end of volatility, so switch in instalments. Third, if you are an Egyptian abroad, registration for 'Beitak Fi Misr' is still open with a published price ladder ($412–$1,614 per square metre) — compare any private offer against it before transferring, and remember that a transfer does not book the unit. A new edition tomorrow with the next day's figures.</p>