Apartment prices in Sharm El Sheikh by area: what drives them and how to read a listing

The first thing anyone notices when they open apartments for sale in Sharm El Sheikh is the spread. A studio and a two-bedroom flat can sit next to each other in the results and differ not twice in price, as the floor area would suggest, but four or five times. That is neither a mistake nor a trick. In a resort town the price is built not from square metres but from a handful of attributes, each acting as a multiplier. Below we take them in order and show how to read any listing through them — ours or anyone else's.

What sets the price of a flat in Sharm

Ranked by weight, the attributes run like this: relationship to the sea, area, building and compound, readiness, and only then floor area and layout. Size matters — within one building. Between buildings and areas its role almost disappears.

The sea: line, view and how you get down to the water

The strongest multiplier is position relative to the water. A first line with its own access to the reef or a beach and a second line across the road differ not only in price but in who buys: the first is bought for holidays and letting to tourists, the second for living. The view is priced separately — it cannot be added by renovation, so a sea-view flat in the same building costs more than the flat on the same floor facing the courtyard.

A Sharm peculiarity is the terrain. Most housing stands on a plateau or a slope, and 'five minutes to the sea' can mean five minutes down a staircase in forty-degree heat. Experienced buyers therefore ask not for the distance but for the route: by road, by stairs, through a hotel's grounds. The easier the way down, the higher the price.

The area

The six areas where homes are sold differ not in prestige but in the kind of life they offer. Naama Bay is the centre of resort life, everything on foot, and noise; Hadaba is the residential plateau above the sea where people live all year; Montazah is the slope above Naama with the views; Nabq is the new, roomy, car-dependent development by the airport; Sharks Bay and Ras Um Sid are narrow strips by the water with the reef. Each has its own public and its own demand, so the same type of flat costs differently from area to area, and that is as it should be. The areas are compared in detail in a separate article.

The building and the compound

In Sharm a flat is almost always sold together with its building in the wide sense: the grounds, the pool, the security, the state of the stairwell and how the complex is run. A compound with tended grounds, working lifts, a generator and water treatment costs more than the building opposite with the same flats and neglected common areas. A compound also means a monthly service charge — part of the price, spread over time. A high charge pushes the purchase price down, all else being equal.

Readiness: a finished flat or a building site

A flat in a project under construction is usually cheaper than a finished one in the same place. The difference is the price of risk and of waiting, and it depends on the stage of the works and the developer's record. We do not publish a percentage because there is no honest single number: it differs from project to project. How to weigh the risks is covered in the article on ready property versus off-plan.

Size, floor, layout, furniture

Within one building the familiar attributes take over: floor area, number of bedrooms, floor, a terrace, the quality of the finish and the furniture. Furniture in Sharm is often sold with the flat, and 'furnished' can mean everything from the air-conditioning units to the crockery. That is convenient for letting, but be clear about what you are buying: new furniture, or furniture that has done ten seasons.

How to read a Sharm property listing

Listings in Sharm are written in many styles, and the same words cover different things. Here is how to translate the usual phrases into facts.

• 'First line' — ask whether the building has its own access to the water and of what kind: beach, reef, pontoon. A first line without water access is a view, not access.
• 'Near the sea', 'a hundred metres to the sea' — ask to see the route on the map and walk it at the viewing. Metres as the crow flies and minutes on foot diverge in Sharm more than anywhere.
• 'Private beach' — ask who owns it: the building, the compound, or a neighbouring hotel under an agreement. An agreement with a hotel can end.
• 'Price negotiable' or 'price on request' — the seller is not ready to name a figure publicly. Not a bad sign, but the property cannot be compared with others until a figure is named.
• 'Fully furnished' — ask for the list and the age of furniture and appliances. The air-conditioning units and the water heater matter more than the sofa.
• 'Ready to move in' — check that water and electricity are connected in the seller's name and that there are no service-charge arrears.
• Price in dollars, euros or pounds — note the currency. Deals in Sharm are often counted in dollars, but listings come in all three, and the conversion depends on the day.

Why the listed price and the deal price differ

A published price in Sharm is an invitation to talk. How far it moves depends on the seller, how long the property has been on the market and its condition, and there is no general rule. What is worth knowing in advance: the price of the flat is joined by the costs of completing the purchase and, in compounds, by entry and yearly payments. Their make-up is described in the article on the real cost of buying; here we deliberately name no sums, because they depend on the type of contract and change.

Using the catalogue to see real prices by area

1. Open the catalogue and choose an area — every property in the results shows its price, currency and the date it was updated.
2. Filter by type: studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats live in different price corridors, and mixing them tells you nothing.
3. Sort by price and look at both ends: the cheapest and the dearest properties explain what people pay for in that area.
4. Open a property card: it shows where the price comes from (seller, developer, Dommare estimate) and when it was confirmed.
5. Compare two or three similar properties on the attributes in this article — line, way down to the water, building, readiness — and the spread stops looking random.