Developers dangle a cash discount on one side and a multi-year installment plan on the other. The real answer depends on what your money can do elsewhere. Every price list in Egypt shows two numbers: the cash price and the installment price, and the gap between them — often 20-35% — is presented as a straightforward discount. It isn't quite that simple. What the discount is really pricing in That cash discount is the developer's cost of capital: money today is worth more to them than the same amount spread over 6-8 years, especially with inflation eroding the real value of fixed EGP installments over time. From your side, the discount is only 'free money' if you don't have anywhere better to put that cash in the meantime. Run the actual comparison Compare the cash discount rate against what your capital could realistically earn elsewhere — a savings certificate, a money market fund, or another investment — over the same period, adjusted for the fact that your installments are fixed in nominal EGP terms and effectively shrink in real terms if the pound weakens. In an inflationary environment, long installment plans on a fixed EGP schedule have quietly favored the buyer for the past few years, because you're repaying with cheaper future currency. It's not purely financial There's a liquidity argument too: keeping capital in installments rather than locking it all into one asset gives you flexibility if an emergency or a better opportunity comes up. Conversely, a large cash payment can sometimes unlock a materially better unit or floor within the same project, since developers often reserve their best inventory for stronger offers. We walk clients through the actual numbers rather than the advertised discount percentage, because the right answer flips depending on your liquidity, your view on EGP inflation, and what else that cash could be doing for you.
https://www.aqar-factory.com/blog/cash-vs-installments-payment-plan