A square metre in Sheikh Zayed costs EGP 51,100, while in the New Administrative Capital it costs EGP 31,400. That is a difference of 1.6 times within a single city.
Yet the price per metre is the wrong basis for choosing. The highest rental yield comes from New Cairo, where the metre is cheaper than in Sheikh Zayed: 7.75% a year against 6.87%.
Below are the four districts foreign buyers choose most often, and one older area that works by different rules.
Contents:
- How we calculated this
- The New Administrative Capital
- New Cairo and the Fifth Settlement
- Sheikh Zayed
- 6th of October
- Maadi
- What a flat brings in: the sums for two districts
- What to check before buying in a particular district
- Limits that apply across the city
- What changed on the city map by 2026
- Frequently asked questions
How we calculated this
Prices come from the portal's own listings: for each district we collected the current offers and worked out the median price, the median floor area and the price per square metre. Yields are quoted from Global Property Guide.
| District | Listings | Median price | Median floor area | Price per m² | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Cairo | 58 | EGP 7.58m ($152,000) | 166 m² | EGP 44,400 ($890) | 7.75% |
| 6th of October | 52 | EGP 7.84m ($157,000) | 180 m² | EGP 44,700 ($895) | no data |
| Sheikh Zayed | 35 | EGP 6.83m ($137,000) | 131 m² | EGP 51,100 ($1,020) | 6.87% |
| New Capital | 14 | EGP 4.73m ($95,000) | 145 m² | EGP 31,400 ($630) | no data |
The average gross rental yield across Egypt in the second quarter of 2026 was 7.61%.
The New Administrative Capital
The city is being built 45 kilometres east of Cairo. It covers 230,000 feddans, around 96,000 hectares. The population target is 8 to 9 million people and the project is valued at about $58 billion.
By 2026 it had moved beyond the construction stage. Ministries have relocated, parliament is sitting, some 48,000 civil servants travel in each day and the permanent population is already above 30,000. There are 520 developers working on site, and an electric railway connects the city with eastern Cairo.
Entry prices here are the lowest of the districts covered: the median flat costs around $95,000 with a floor area of 145 m². The metre works out roughly half the price of Sheikh Zayed.
It is too early to talk about rental yields in the new capital: the district is young and there are no figures for it yet. The pattern of demand offers an indirect guide: 30,000 residents against a target of 8 to 9 million, and a large share of the potential tenants are the same civil servants, who are provided with staff housing.
The district suits buyers with a five to seven year horizon who are counting on values rising as the city fills up. Anyone who needs rental income from the first month is better off looking at areas with established infrastructure. What is being built here and how the neighbourhoods are laid out is set out in the New Administrative Capital guide.
The new capital today is a bet on time rather than on rental flow. Entry is cheaper than in established districts, but the horizon before it pays off is markedly longer, note analysts covering the Egyptian market.
New Cairo and the Fifth Settlement
The Fifth Settlement is the central and most expensive part of New Cairo, an area that took shape back in the 2000s. The infrastructure is in place: universities, international schools, offices and shopping centres.
New Cairo has 58 listings on the portal, more than any other district. The median price is EGP 7.58m, around $152,000, with a floor area of 166 m². The metre works out at roughly EGP 44,400. The spread is wide, from EGP 2.7m to 17.4m, or $54,000 to $348,000.
The yield on two-bedroom flats is 7.75%, among the best in the city. It rests on steady tenant demand rather than on any shortage of supply.
The district suits buyers letting property who want predictability, and families with school-age children. It will not work on a budget below $60,000: that is roughly where the lower end of the local market begins, and the choice at that level is thin. Current listings and a description of the neighbourhoods are in the New Cairo guide.
Sheikh Zayed
The western counterpart to New Cairo, closer to the pyramids and the Alexandria road.
The metre here is the most expensive of the districts covered: around EGP 51,100, roughly $1,020. The flat itself, however, costs less than in New Cairo, with a median price of EGP 6.83m, about $137,000. The reason is floor area: a median of 131 m² against 166 m² on the eastern side.
The yield on two-bedroom flats is 6.87%, lower than in New Cairo despite the more expensive metre.
The district suits buyers who want a compact flat at a prestigious address and are not chasing maximum returns. Details of the neighbourhoods are in the Sheikh Zayed guide.
6th of October
A satellite city next to Sheikh Zayed. Buyers come here for space: the flats are larger than in any other district in the sample.
There are 52 listings, with a median price of EGP 7.84m, around $157,000. Floor areas are the largest in the sample, with a median of 180 m². The metre costs about the same as in New Cairo, around EGP 44,700.
The arithmetic works out like this: in Sheikh Zayed $137,000 buys 131 m², while in 6th of October $157,000 buys 180 m². An extra $20,000 adds almost 50 square metres.
The district suits families who need floor area and buyers prepared for a longer journey into the business districts. How the city is arranged is covered in the 6th of October guide.
Maadi
An older, leafy district on the bank of the Nile and the historic centre of expatriate life in Cairo: embassies, international schools and cafés.
There is almost no new-build stock here. The market is a resale one, and that changes the whole arithmetic of a purchase. On the plus side, rental demand comes from foreign company staff and diplomats, who pay reliably. On the minus side, a significant share of the older housing stock is not fully registered, so checking the chain of past transactions takes time and adds to the legal bill.
The district suits people relocating themselves who prefer an urban setting to a gated compound. The Maadi guide gives a sense of the area.
What a flat brings in: the sums for two districts
Take the median flats from the table and work out the gross rental income.
New Cairo: a flat at $152,000 yielding 7.75% brings in around $11,800 a year, or roughly $980 a month.
Sheikh Zayed: a flat at $137,000 yielding 6.87% brings in around $9,400 a year, roughly $780 a month.
That is income before costs. Deducted from it are income tax on the rent, the annual property tax, the compound service charge, void periods between tenants and the management company's fee if you are not letting the flat yourself. The service charge is set by the developer and has the largest effect on the final figure, which is why net yield is calculated against a specific project.
Buyers are used to comparing districts by price per metre, when what decides the outcome is floor area combined with rental demand. In Cairo a prestigious address and a high return almost never come together in one place, says a property expert in the Egyptian capital.
What to check before buying in a particular district
- transport links: how far the business districts are and whether there is a railway station nearby;
- how ready the infrastructure is: whether schools, shops and clinics in neighbouring blocks are open or still under construction;
- how full the compound is: how many flats have been handed over and how many stand empty;
- the completion date of the phase, if the project is unfinished;
- the size of the service charge and how it is indexed;
- whether the property is registered with Shahr Aqari, particularly on the resale market.
Limits that apply across the city
Currency risk. All prices and all rents are denominated in Egyptian pounds, and the pound has been through several devaluations in recent years, trading at around 50 to the dollar in August 2026. A 7.6% yield in pounds and the same yield in dollars are not the same thing.
Mortgages out of reach. A non-resident can in theory borrow from an Egyptian bank, but in practice such loans are rarely granted. The working instrument is a developer payment plan: 5–10% down and terms of up to 10 years, interest free, though only on a new build in a specific project.
A slow exit. The resale market in new compounds is thin: buyers go to developers for payment plans rather than to private sellers for the full sum. A sale can take months, and 2.5% tax on the transaction value goes to the state in any case, even on a sale at a loss.
What changed on the city map by 2026
The New Administrative Capital has moved from the category of building site to that of a working city. Guides written two or three years ago that describe it as a project without residents are out of date: 30,000 permanent residents and a sitting parliament change the risk assessment.
The structure of supply has changed. The median lot across Cairo's districts now costs between EGP 4.7m and 7.8m, that is $95,000 to $157,000. What counted as a modest budget a few years ago now sends a buyer either to the new capital or to the satellite cities.
Price per metre and yield have parted company. The most expensive metre, in Sheikh Zayed, delivers a lower return than the cheaper metre in New Cairo, so choosing a district on entry price alone has stopped working.
Frequently asked questions
Which district of Cairo has the most expensive price per metre?
Sheikh Zayed: the median across the portal's listings is around EGP 51,100 per square metre, roughly $1,020. New Cairo and 6th of October sit at EGP 44,000–45,000, and the New Administrative Capital at about EGP 31,400.
Where is the rental yield highest?
In New Cairo: 7.75% a year on two-bedroom flats against 6.87% in Sheikh Zayed. The average gross yield across Egypt in the second quarter of 2026 was 7.61%.
Is the New Administrative Capital worth buying into?
The district is built for a five to seven year horizon and for capital growth as the city fills up. It does not yet suit buyers who need rental income from the first month: the permanent population is 30,000 against a target of 8 to 9 million.
Where does the same money buy more space?
In 6th of October. The median floor area there is 180 m² against 166 m² in New Cairo and 131 m² in Sheikh Zayed, while the price per metre is comparable with New Cairo.
Is Maadi suitable for an investment purchase?
The district draws rental demand from foreign company staff and diplomats, but the market here is a resale one. Part of the older stock is not fully registered, so checking the paperwork takes longer and costs more than buying a new build.
