Palm Hills Developments Villas

The lightest way into a standalone villa starts at EGP 19.3 million in The Crown, followed by a ready 200 sqm family house at about EGP 23 million in Bamboo Extension, then the Fifth Settlement villas at EGP 40.585 million. The large coastal houses in Ras El Hekma belong to a tier well above all of that.

Real comparison starts with area: 184 and 188 sqm in the Badya clusters, from 234 sqm west of Alexandria, from 300 sqm in Golden Square, and 303 to 631 sqm in The Crown, while the coastal house at Kilo 238 measures 519 sqm. Ask for two figures rather than one — the land first, then the building.

Ask for two separate numbers before any comparison: the plot area and the built-up area. A 300 sqm villa on a 500 sqm plot is a different property from the same house on a tighter plot, and the gap shows in the garden, the privacy and the resale value far more than it shows in the advertised price.

Then choose between a completed house and a new release. The Crown, Golden Square, Woodville, Palm Valley and Bamboo Extension let you judge the trees, the neighbours and the streets before signing, while Badya, the Fifth Settlement, PX and Jirian give you first choice of plot and its place on the paseo or the water channel in return for waiting.

Keep the coastal decision separate from the year-round one. A villa at Hacienda Ras El Hekma or Hacienda Waters is judged by its distance from the water and the length of the season, whereas a villa in New Cairo or October is judged by schools, commute and the road out — the two should never be ranked on price alone.

Finally, budget past the price: annual maintenance, club membership, the cost of finishing the garden and pool where these are not included, and the handover date written into the contract rather than the one mentioned in conversation. Over a decade of instalments those lines can be worth millions.