Investing in Moroccan Property

As one of Europe’s closest neighbours, Morocco carries an appeal to holiday makers and investors for its familiarity and its exotic contrasts with a timeless quality. Located directly south of Spain with coastlines along the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, the country offers visitors a variety of options, from beaches, cities, mountains, dense forests and deserts.

Investing in Morocco gained attraction in recent years with the introduction of the King’s Plan Azur. Designed to attract foreign investors and increase tourism numbers, the Plan Azur has added confidence to buyers with its factors of stability.

The improvements in infrastructure, increases in flights, construction of 5 star hotels and championship golf courses have added to providing buyers and visitors with the standard features they have become accustomed to. The growth of the Moroccan market has bought with it increases in capital appreciation and a steady rental market, both important to overseas buyers.

Overview of Investing in Morocco

With the government of Morocco actively encouraging foreign investment in the country, major changes have been planned and are taking place to ensure that the market is as attractive to investors as possible. Areas of the country where these changes are already visible are with the new motorways, expansion of airports along with other areas such as ports and marinas.

These changes have increased the numbers of tourists visiting the country and the numbers are well on their way to reaching the planned 10 million visitors by the year 2010. The year round sunshine adds to the touristic appeal and the improvements in the hotels available for visitors, along with the options for self catering holidays, greatly increasing by those from the UK, all add up to make Morocco an ever more attractive location for foreign buyers and investors.

English, French and Spanish are widely spoken as the north coast of Morocco is currently one of the major holiday destinations along the Mediterranean. The country is expected to remain as a property hotspot and the numbers of buyers and investors continues to grow, keeping the capital appreciation of the location steady.

News Highlight – Fantastic deals on property taxes

Despite the consistently high attraction of Morocco for property investors, the property prices remain up to 50% lower than other European resorts, coupled with the low cost of living, Morocco remains attractive in many aspects for buyers.

The government created tax advantages for foreign buyers to make the location competitive in its markets, so along with the possibility for buyers to receive up to 70% mortgages to finance their purchases, they also benefit from being exempt from paying any rental income tax for the first 5 years.

Investors who wish to purchase for the long term benefits of the property market growth, there is an exemption from paying any capital gains or inheritance taxes if the property is sold after 10 years.

Inheritance taxes are also greatly reduced for other buyers who leave their Moroccan property to family members. The tax advantages created for foreign buyers have been one of the greatest selling points to realistic buyers who understand that although the property market in various other locations may appear on the outset to be bargain priced, after the taxes and other additional costs are calculated, the prices of buying in these locations out-weigh the other benefits.

Why Invest in Morocco?

• Capital growth is 15%
• 2.2 million visitors a year, rising by 26% a year – the Moroccans plan to increase tourism to 10 million by 2010
• Very strict building regulations
• The equivalent of £27bn is being spent on roads, airports and general infrastructure
• There are plans for a Mediterranean tunnel from the east of Gibraltar to Tangiers
• More 18-hole championship-standard golf courses are under construction close to Smir
• Morocco will home the largest port in the Mediterranean, due to be completed in 2009.
• Nokia, IBM, Dell and Intel are among companies that have invested here
• Some of the world’s largest developers are investing billions into new Moroccan developments.

Latest News in Investment Markets – Phuket, Thailand

Phuket, the popular resort area of Thailand for holiday makers and in more recent years, property investors, has began to see a downturn in the numbers of investors looking towards the tropical Asian paradise for their overseas investment market locations. The drop in the numbers of sales in recent months has lead to a halting of the numbers of new developments being approved as a way of controlling the potentially troublesome effects of having excessive properties and limited buyers.

Despite the slight downturn in interest from overseas buyers, the Phuket market is not expected to experience a crash like those seen in other popular markets, such as Spain, due to the differences of the market in comparison to other world locations. The Phuket property market is almost entirely owned by foreigners as investment properties for renting out to the tourism market. The touristic attraction of Phuket will remain strong with its central location in south-east Asia and established popularity as a holiday location.

Of the properties that have been recently constructed, or undergoing construction in Phuket, the majority of units have already sold, showing the demand for the market and creating a limited supply of remaining units to fill the interest that has already established. As many of the units constructed in Phuket are aimed at the higher end of the market, the recovery of any slight downturn is expected to stabilise.
Property Investing Thailand Homepage

Property Market Focus - April 20, 2009

Coming Next Month!

The Turkish Investment Market

Next month we will be visiting the Turkish investment market, the gateway between Europe and Asia, experiencing the highest economic growth rate of any country in both Europe and Asia.

Having been a popular holiday destination for Europeans over the years, Turkey opened its doors to allow foreign buyers to purchase property in 2002, and the economy skyrocketed. Including in the current real estate market, Turkey holds onto its appeal, with interest in the country remaining steadily strong.

Turkey provides an appeal for all investor types and levels with some of the lowest cost per square metre of land and housing, and various regional attractions, along with a Mediterranean charm.

Infrastructure improvements have been carried out to cope with the demands, followed by direct flights from various European capitals, improving accessibility and modernisation to meet the demands of overseas buyers. Locations such as Bodrum are increasing tourism numbers continuously, and options for buyers such as guaranteed rental schemes make the location ever more attractive to investors.
Property Investing Turkey Homepage

Back to Investment Focus Menu | Back to Overseas Homepage