Glossary
What is price per metre?
Price per metre is a unit's total price divided by its built-up area. It is the standard comparison measure in Egyptian real estate, and it is only comparable when the area definition, the finishing level and the payment plan are the same across the units compared.
The three things that break the comparison
Area definition: built-up area, net area, and built-up including a share of common area are three different numbers for the same apartment, and developers do not all quote the same one.
Finishing level: a semi-finished and a fully finished unit at the same price per metre are not comparably priced. Payment plan: a cash price and a ten-year plan price per metre differ by the developer's financing cost.
What it is still good for
Within a single project, at a single finishing level, on a single plan, price per metre is an excellent way to see how a developer prices floor level, orientation, view and unit type. Across projects it is a starting question, not an answer.
Garden and roof areas
Ground-floor gardens and roof allocations are usually priced at a fraction of the internal rate, and whether they are included in the denominator changes the headline number substantially. A published price per metre without its area basis should be treated as marketing rather than data.
Frequently asked questions
- Should price per metre include the garden?
- State the basis either way. The common convention is to price garden area separately at a lower rate and quote price per metre on built-up area, but conventions vary by developer.
- Is a lower price per metre better?
- Only against a matched comparison. A lower rate on a longer plan, a lower finishing level or a different area definition is not a better price.
Related
See it against your own inventory
Bring one project. We load its masterplan and unit list, and you see your own homes as digital records before you decide anything.