Morocco is turning into another Arabian real estate success story, with a future marked out by better economic growth than most European countries and good relations with both its neighbours and the IMF. Morocco has seen continuing economic growth, improving social indicators and an expanding middle class over the last decade, according to a report fro Aylesford International. The Moroccan government has encouraged this change, presiding over reforms that have rescued the country from its 1980s recession by recognising the key importance of Morocco’s tourist industry to the country’s economic health.
As part of that expansion, the second home industry in Morocco is booming, fuelled by demand from domestic buyers of second homes, expatriates buying holiday homes and this has recently been bolstered by an influx of investment capital from high-net-worth individuals from abroad. Wealth-X says there are now 35 ‘ultra high net worth’ individuals in Morocco, with a total wealth of $5bn, who are interested in property as an investment.
The report goes on to detail Morocco’s significant expatriate community. Foreign residents are primarily from French-speaking countries, in line with Morocco’s historical links with Romance Europe, and the UK makes up a significant slice, though there are plenty of expatriate residents from further afield. Expatriates are attracted to Morocco by its moderate property transaction costs, liberal inheritance laws and the country’s climate and culture. There’s also a strong appeal to Morocco’s relative stability; as political turmoil threatens to engulf North Africa, Morocco stands as an island of political continuity, under the shelter of its new 2011 constitution and buoyed up by its relative prosperity.
However, Morocco can’t escape from the effects of Europe’s downturn forever, and recent economic figures showed a significant slowdown and higher budget deficits. Morocco’s 2013 Budget saw tax increases on high earners as well as high-profit companies.
These changes haven’t held Morocco back from its boom in high-end luxury real estate, though. Several integrated resorts have been built to meet the demand, under the auspices of the Plan Azur Policy which will eventually see six major resorts constructed in the Kingdom’s major cities, five on Morocco’s Atlantic coast and one on its Mediterranean coast. And very high end luxury property is booming too.
While Moroccan luxury real estate faces competition from Spain and Portugal, whose luxury properties now come with visas attached, it’s also extremely close to the UK. The journey to Morocco can take just three hours from the UK and from European cities it’s even less, indicating the reason that Morocco has received such strong interest in its real estate.
While they’re hardly typical Moroccan second homes, examples of the types of properties that are attracting wealthy investors include a five-bedroom villa in Marrakech with two guest houses, pool, tennis courts and a three hectare garden priced at €2.9m, and a four to six bedroom villa on a private estate which includes an 18 hole golf course. Like many properties attracting interest from the super-rich, this one has yet to be completed, and is due to be finished in 2015.
