Obour is east Cairo's practical value city: a working town on the Cairo–Ismailia desert road where a family budget still lands a real apartment. On live 3altool data, Obour City carries 914 listings at a median cash price of EGP 3.64M and about EGP 24,000 per square metre — a third of Madinaty's meter across the eastern belt. This guide covers the numbered districts, the famous عمارات العبور blocks, the Ahmed Orabi cooperative area (a different product entirely), and New Obour, where nearly all of today's portal supply actually sits.
Where Obour sits and who it suits
Obour City (مدينة العبور) grew up on the Cairo–Ismailia desert road, the northern arm of east Cairo's expansion. It is a city people work in, not just sleep in: industrial zones, the wholesale market, and quick road access toward Nasr City and Heliopolis on one side and the 10th of Ramadan corridor on the other. That is exactly who it suits — budget-minded families whose jobs live along that east Cairo axis and who want meters and services without compound pricing. Browse Nasr City for the inner-city alternative and you will see the price logic immediately.
The numbered districts and the famous Obour blocks
Old Obour is organised as numbered districts (الأحياء المرقمة) of streets, villas and walk-up buildings. Inside them sits the stock everyone searches by name: عمارات العبور — the apartment-block estates, sold and resold as finished apartments in mid-rise blocks. Some carry marketing names buyers type verbatim, most famously the Salah Salem blocks (عمارات صلاح سالم). These blocks are Obour's bread and butter: honest meters, ordinary contracts, services downstairs.
Honest portal note: most old-Obour block resales still move through local brokers and word of mouth, so the live count on aggregator sites understates that market badly — only 59 of Obour's 914 live listings sit outside New Obour today. Use the portal for price reference, then work the ground. 3altool retires stale listings rather than padding counts, so what you see is genuinely for sale.
Ahmed Orabi: a different product entirely
جمعية أحمد عرابي (the Ahmed Orabi Association) gets searched almost as much as Obour itself, and it confuses buyers because it is not city housing at all. It is an agricultural cooperative area on Obour's outskirts: plots, farms and weekend houses on cooperative land. Buying there means buying into association rules — membership, allocation papers, and what exactly transfers to you — not a NUCA city apartment with standard paperwork. Neither is wrong; they are different products for different goals. If you are considering it, read our red flags guide first and verify the paperwork chain before paying anything. You can scan what surfaces on portals via a live search, but expect most of that market to be broker-to-broker.
The wholesale market: Obour's job anchor
سوق العبور — the Obour wholesale market — is the main produce market feeding Greater Cairo, and it anchors a year-round local economy of traders, transporters and shops. For a homeowner that matters twice: it keeps rental demand steady, and it means the city has its own pulse instead of emptying out at 8am. The area around the market itself lists a small but real slice of supply — 22 live listings today.
New Obour: where the supply actually is
العبور الجديدة (New Obour) is the state's expansion of the city — new numbered districts being built out, including سكن لكل المصريين (Housing for All Egyptians) units sold through the government's subsidised-finance track. The portal numbers tell the story bluntly: New Obour holds 855 of Obour's 914 live listings — 94% of everything for sale. If you are buying a program unit, the financing rules are the whole game; our mortgage finance guide explains how the subsidised and open-market tracks work.
What homes cost in August 2026
| Slice | Live listings | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All Obour City | 914 | median cash ≈ EGP 3.64M, entry from ≈ EGP 1.19M, ≈ EGP 24,000/m² |
| New Obour | 855 | 94% of live supply — the portal market today |
| Obour Market area | 22 | around the wholesale-market anchor |
| Golf City | 5 | compound slice, thin on portals |
Obour in context: the eastern ladder
Put the corridor side by side and Obour's role is obvious. Madinaty runs a median of EGP 8.3M; Badr City sits at EGP 1.7M; Obour holds the practical middle at 3.64M — closer to Cairo than Badr, a fraction of Madinaty's price, with jobs of its own. El Shorouk next door plays a similar middle role on the other arm of the corridor. Per meter, Obour's EGP 24,000 buys you into a lived-in city, not a promise.
Buying in Obour: the short checklist
- Old blocks: verify the paperwork. Most عمارات العبور stock trades on ordinary contracts. Check the chain of contracts and budget for registration before you fall in love with a price.
- New Obour: check delivery and finance. Program units come with eligibility and finance rules — the mortgage guide covers them. Confirm what stage of handover the district is actually at, on the ground.
- Compare the real cash price. Instalment offers in New Obour stretch years; every 3altool listing shows the computed full cash figure, so a block resale and a new-district plan compare honestly — and price cuts are tracked, so you see which sellers are actually moving.
See every home for sale in Obour City →
Counts and medians are live 3altool data as of 15 August 2026 and refresh daily on the linked pages. Market information, not investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
How much do apartments in Obour City cost in 2026?
The citywide median cash price is EGP 3.64M across 914 live listings — about EGP 24,000 per square metre — with entry from roughly EGP 1.19M. Note that 94% of live portal supply sits in New Obour.
What is Gam3eyet Ahmed Orabi (جمعية أحمد عرابي)?
An agricultural cooperative area on Obour's outskirts — plots, farms and weekend houses under association rules. It is a different product from city apartments: verify membership and allocation paperwork carefully, because transfers follow cooperative rules, not standard city-housing contracts.
What are the Obour blocks (عمارات العبور)?
The apartment-block estates of old Obour's numbered districts — finished apartments in mid-rise blocks, some known by marketing names like the Salah Salem blocks. Most resales there still trade through local brokers, so portal counts understate that market.
What is New Obour (العبور الجديدة)?
The state's expansion of Obour with new numbered districts and Housing for All Egyptians units. It dominates the live market today: 855 of Obour's 914 portal listings sit there, and program units run on subsidised mortgage-finance rules.