I would say it depends what you are looking for. If you are looking at buying with a mortgage, and you need to off-set payments against rentals, then I would say Morocco's the better bet, as you should have a better chance of more rentals due to the year-round weather, whereas Egypt isnt a year-round resort, due to the ridiculously high temperatures in summer.
Egypt is cheaper than Morocco on starting prices, so shouldhave a better chance of reselling in the future as lower prices opens the market up to more (potential) buyers.
It depends what floats your boat, but my personal preference would be Morocco, but onlyon one of the Plan Azure sites, as it has the Kings backing.
Morocco has more potential in view of it's fairly unique market positioning stratergy which aims to net the midlle to upper end of the spectrum. Plan Azure in particular is a pretty unique concept - the latest paperwork Ive had from LejardinDeFleur goes into detail about the '5 star luxury hotel standards of service and accomodation', the 'concierge to meet all property users upon arrival'. The facilities and concepts for me are world class and will draw year round rentals.
Egypt as a whole is aimed at a different marketplace all together, in my view and I say this without any critiscism, very much the Thompson Holidays end of things.
Furthermore it's a lot further away and too monotone for me - no snowy mountains, little greenery, not particularly funky.
I thought I should reply to give some constructive information about Egypt from someone who has a property there to restore some balance to this post and reply to the rather generalised opinions from the previous posters .
Firstly rumpolas statement about Egypt not being a year round destination due to the ridiculously high temperatures in the summer . Anyone who has visited the Hurghada coast area would know that there is a prevailing wind which tempers the high temperatures in the summer and that due to the lack of humidity the temperatures are totally bearable . I regularly visit between June and August .
I would also argue that Egypt has much better winter weather . Those snowy mountains and that greenery in Morocco come at a price i.e precipitation . Egypt may be monotone but its also dry and sunny in the winter .This is,in some way ,a pay off for the extra flying time to Egypt,which is still only 5 hours from London.I cant deny though that low cost flights to Morocco are a definite advantage.
Thorr ,you are comparing a resort in Morocco to the whole of Egypt . To state that The whole of Egypt is aimed at the Thompson Holiday brigade is incorrect . Whilst I would concur that Naama bay in Sharm has become a victim of its own success (something I would imagine the traditional beach resorts in Morocco which were very much in vogue with the Thompsons holiday brigade a couple of decades ago ,wish they could have sustained ).
Resorts such as Taba Heights, El Gouna and Sahl Hasheesh which are very similar in concept to Plan Azure are also aimed at a higher end market (No McDonalds and KFC in these resorts) . Serrenia in particular which is part of Sahl Hasheesh is aiming at Wealthy Arabs,an exclusivity which will potentially rub off on the whole of the resort .
I couldn't comment on which is the best place to invest but I am happy with the capital appreciation of my place in El Gouna over the last 3 years and in my first year of renting the apartment out I have received a 6% return on original investment from only 4 bookings (7 weeks occupancy).I am not agressively marketing the rental of the property, only having an advert on one rental site, so I could probably do better if I put some more effort into Marketing it.I would post a link but I presume this is against the forum rules ?
Admittedly prices have risen in Egypt since I bought and such returns would not be possible when investing now .
What I would say is ,wherever you do plan to buy ,visit the place ,preferebly more than once ,and make sure you actually like it? .If you do then your renters and any future purchaser should too.
Its difficult to say .I am only offering holiday rentals so regular monthly income isnt guaranteed .For a 1 bed apt in El Gouna rates of £200 to £250 per week are realistic . Long term rentals will give a steady return but at a lesser monthly rate than a holiday booking .
I have been following the progress on the Sahl Hasheesh Resort. I previously decided against purchasing in Sahl. There have been discussions on this forum in at least two separate threads earlier this year regarding this resort.
I am of the opinion that Sahl is now an even more risky purchase proposition than it was. The "newer" Pyrmaisa plots of The Pearl, and Sunset Pearl, are overpriced but are selling better than the "older" plots of Resort Alliance called Al Andalus, Ocean Breeze, Pizza, which are mostly unsold. Undoubtably the reason will be potential purchasers doing their research\due diligence, reading how things are kicking off on eyeonworldwide (Sahl Hasheesh) and the Sahl Hasheesh google group. I say kicking off, a bloodbath may be a better description as hand to hand fighting ensues between the developers Resort Alliance and the investors. Makes good reading, the problems are huge. Only you can decide whether or not Sahl Hasheesh is for you after reading that lot.
ie. Investment Investment and Personal Use Personal Use Family Retirement
Once you know why you are buying, you can be logical in your evaluation.
If any thing personal, it is worth checking out both areas and find which place resonates with you.
Some good points have been noted, price, resale, etc, from a business point of view, Egypt seems to be the hottest market right now, it has good tax policies for non residents, ie. not much tax. People are now considering Egypt as a retirement destination, which is a bit of a novelty, because of prices etc.
From another business point of view, we find dealing with Egyptians far easier than Moroccans, but that may be just commercial things.
Investment, Egypt came top *this was Cairo though for rental yields globally. Hurghada, or Sahl Hasheesh, is tourist so is different market. It should be a nice place, 3 golf courses.
Morocco has the proximity, closer, cheaper. Is down to you.
