An Egyptian economic expert mocks Mohamed Ramadan's entry into the real estate market

Tawfiq said: “With Brother Mohamed Ramadan’s entry into the real estate development market, all corners of the bubble are completed without exception... It is the morgue without bodies!”, in a sarcastic reference to his fears of structural and financing imbalances that he says are increasing within the market.

The economic expert's comment came after Ramadan announced the launch of his first real estate projects under the names "MR1 Hotels" and "Giza Downtown", in partnership with businessman Mohamed Shebl, targeting the hospitality and commercial development sectors in Giza Governorate.

Ramadan chose Giza as a starting point for his project, noting that he had studied several sites in Cairo and Giza, including the site of the former Giza Security Directorate building overlooking the Nile. The project includes a hotel called “MR1,” in addition to a commercial project called “Giza Downtown.”

On October 6, the artist announced the closure of reservations and sales, less than 48 hours after the project was announced, saying that the units had been fully reserved, although no independent details were available in the announcement clarifying the volume of actual sales or the value of the cash collections resulting from them.

Tawfiq's warning about a real estate bubble is based on what he describes as the existence of a gap between announced sales and the value of the money that companies actually receive, in addition to the reliance of some developers, according to his estimate, on financial flows from the sales of new phases to finance previous commitments and projects, which may raise the risk of default if demand slows or liquidity declines.

Tawfiq had warned in previous statements of the decline in consumers’ purchasing power in conjunction with the rise in construction and implementation costs, considering that these factors may put pressure on companies’ sales and make it more difficult to fulfill their obligations to customers, banks, and contractors.

Data from The Board Consulting indicate that the number of units sold by the ten largest real estate development companies in Egypt declined by 15% during the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same period of the previous year, to about 15.5 thousand units.

On the other hand, the value of sales declined by a smaller rate of 6.5%, to record about 271 billion pounds, which reflects the impact of rising prices on the total value despite the decrease in the number of units sold.

Tawfiq called for regulating the relationship between developers and buyers, and implementing escrow accounts that protect customer funds and link payments to the implementation stages. He also put forward a proposal for real estate investment funds to acquire majority stakes in troubled companies to complete their projects and deliver the units to their owners, while benefiting from some units in hotel apartment activities.