Cairo’s real estate market had a mixed second quarter on the back of currency instability and devaluation risks, according to JLL’s Cairo Real Estate Market Overview Q2 2016 (pdf) published last week. While demand for off-plan sales was driven by investors viewing real estate as a safe haven, the FX shortage pushed the office property sector to now accept EGP instead of USD rent contracts — and the retail sector is feeling the crunch as well. One bright spot is hotels, with the depreciating EGP said to benefit the sector in the medium to long term as tourists peg Egypt as a budget destination. Interestingly, average sales prices for apartments and villas were stable in USD and EGP in both New Cairo and Six October in the second quarter due to “the decreased affordability of units in these areas.” Year on year, only apartments in East Cairo saw sales price increases in USD despite the devaluation while villa sales prices in USD decreased at a slower rate in Six October than in New Cairo.