The CEO of the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund (SHMFF), Mai Abdel Hamid, stated that 617,500 recipients have benefited from the approximately EGP 81.22 billion in mortgage financing that has been provided by 22 banks and eight mortgage finance companies in Egypt.
With an average mortgage loan of EGP 131,500 per client, she reported that the direct cash subsidies given to beneficiaries totalled EGP 10.13 billion. Around 2.1 million citizens have applied for housing since 19 announcements were made on June 1, 2014.
Sherif El-Sherbiny, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, presided over a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund, where Abdel Hamid provided these updates.
During the meeting, the status of the fifth phase of the presidential initiative Housing for All Egyptians, key performance indicators, and housing projects for low- and middle-income citizens were reviewed.
According to El-Sherbiny, the initiative has resulted in the completion of ongoing construction of nearly one million housing units for low-income citizens. Of these, 251,000 units are still in development, while 721,000 units have been delivered in full.
Some 54,600 green housing units will be built in nine cities during the initiative’s fifth and sixth phases. In addition, 15 cities and governorates are building 27,944 units of middle-class and investment housing.
Abdel Hamid gave more information about the “Housing for All Egyptians” announcement, stating that this phase includes 78,000 housing units. About 762,000 citizens have bought application booklets, she said, and 589,000 of them have paid the reservation deposit. Approximately 571,000 applicants have used the fund’s official website to submit their requests.
To meet the rising demand for homeownership and guarantee low- and middle-income citizens’ access to mortgage financing, the government is persistently working to increase the number of affordable housing options.