Morocco Real Estate News

Morocco’s emergence as a hot property destination for overseas property investors was massively stunted by its booming economy with masses of growth potential. After an economic growth of 5.6% last year, it is on track for a GDP growth of 5.3% this year, on the back of a bumper harvest, which boosted farm incomes and domestic consumption.

According to the international Monetary Fund (IMF) press release received by PANA in Addis Ababa, Morocco is expected to register an almost equal real GDP growth in 2009 with what it achieved in the preceding fiscal year. ‘Despite the world economic slowdown, Morocco’s economic performance has remained solid,’ said Mark Lewis, who headed IMF mission that visited Rabat from November 2-13, 2009.

‘Consumer price inflation will drop to less than 2 per cent in 2009 and the current account deficit is expected to improve, assuming that the recent signs of a rebound continue in the last part of the year, ‘ the mission stated. The country’s fiscal policy will appropriately loosen in 2009 and 2010, reflecting in good part the authorities’ counter-cyclical l measures. Important reforms in the public finance area are ongoing, including tax reforms, and efforts to gradually replace the current system of subsidies by targeted measures to assist the low-income segments of the population.

According to the IMF, Morocco’s Central Bank has responded appropriately to the evolving economic and financial conditions through its interest rate policy and liquidity management tools.

Moroccan government has announced a plan to increase state investment by 20% next year. This investment is to go into some very important places; an investment in the future economic growth of Morocco, to make it an even more promising destination for property investment. Holiday home buyers and property investors alike are expected to snap up property bargains in this almost exotic gateway to Europe.

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Moroccan government has plans to attract further investors from the Spanish region of Catalonia, and reinforcing the North African country’s presence in this region, according to official reports.

Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, The Speaker of House of Advisors in the Moroccan parliament, who met with visiting Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, underlined the importance of reinforcing bilateral relations, recalling that Catalan exportations to Morocco hold a very advanced position. Pointing out the 16,000 Moroccans live in Catalan region, Biadillah said the opportunities of bringing closer Moroccans and Spaniards through the Moroccan community living in Catalonia, a region located in eastern Spain.

According to Map reports, Morocco is proposing broad autonomy to the Sahara to solve a 34-year dispute over this territory between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario separatists. For his part, Hereu voiced hope to reinforce Catalonia’s ties with Morocco and The number of the Moroccans living in Catalonia represents a strong motivation for the region’s decision-takers to boost relations with Morocco. The mayor expressed hope for the establishment, soon, of a Moroccan cultural centre in Spain. The meeting took place in presence of the Spanish ambassador in Rabat.

Meanwhile, Abdelatif Maazouz, Moroccan Foreign Trade minister, and Turkish Industry and Trade minister, Nihat Ergun, pledged to further reinforce bilateral economic cooperation which may attract investors to the country. Maazouz underlined the investment opportunities offered by the North African country which serves as an investment platform thanks to its strategic geographical location and the free trade agreements it concluded with several countries.

Nihat Ergun stressed the importance of exploring Morocco’s key sectors such as real estate for Turkish businessmen, hoping to see Moroccan and Turkish entrepreneurs establish a mutually beneficial partnership.

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The first conference on investment opportunities in Morocco is opened in London with the participation of a large Moroccan Ministerial delegation.

According to MAP news agency reports, The London conference, titled “the annual conference on investment in Morocco 2009: opportunities for growth and progress”, is initiated by the Moroccan embassy in London and the Lord Mayor of the city of London. It is due to examine a number of issues which highlight Morocco’s efforts to ensure sustained growth amidst a global economic crisis and will tackle such themes as economic growth, Morocco’s position in the region a the advances made in terms of energy.

The Moroccan delegation includes Morocco’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Chrifa Lalla Joumala Alaoui, several government members and economic professionals. On the British side, Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Small Businesses, Lord Davies of Abersoch, Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Ian Luder, Chief Executive of International Financial Services London, Sir Stephen Wright and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, former Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa.

For his part, Taïb Fassi Fihri, Morocco’s Foreign Minister said in a statement released by the Moroccan embassy in London that “As constitutional monarchies, our two countries share a longstanding history of peace and common objectives”. In good news that reassure British investors looking to invest in morocco, He added that Morocco continues to upgrade its economic infrastructure, encourage new businesses, consolidate its economic relations, and enrich our friendship ties with the countries like the UK.

Meanwhile, The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry will organize a business trip to Morocco on November 18-21 to explore investment opportunities in the car industry, reported Morocco’s L’Economiste daily.

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Those thinking of buying Moroccan property may find the Moroccan city of Casablanca to be the ideal location as it offers good investment prospects, it has been suggested.

According to the Times, Jonathan Seale of CBRE said that in prime central Casablanca investors may double their money within ten years. He noted that the city and Rabat are less dependent on overseas buyers than places like Marrakesh and local estate agents have said prices have not fallen in these cities.

According to Elisabeth Ober of estate agency Aylesford International, In Marrakesh, however, values became over inflated and a recent drop during the world economic crisis has been a “good thing”. The publication added that the best Marrakesh bargains are available in the suburbs.

The country has seen its economy and property market remain healthy despite the world economic downturn, with property prices rising since 2007, Global Arab Network stated. The portal predicted that this is likely to continue with major plans to increase tourism and investment in the country. It also advised that it is wise to carry out extensive research before buying, with employing a realtor to check legal documents being an important move.

Meanwhile, Alex Peto of property firm Aylesford told the Daily Telegraph that an investment in Marrakesh over five years is likely to be a profitable one.

In related news, Air Arabia Marco earlier has said it had set up its new base in Casablanca and started flights from London Stansted with four flights per week. This is expected to boost tourist numbers, which in turn could make it easier not only for those buying property there to reach it, but also raise demand for holiday homes.

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Morocco has been offering excellent property investments opportunities with foreign investors finding the Moroccan property market is immensely lucrative from the investment point of view.

According to the Global Arab Network, The country has seen its economy and property market remain healthy despite the world economic downturn, with property prices rising since 2007. It suggested that this is likely to continue with major plans to increase tourism and investment in the country.

The property market is benefiting hugely from the prevalence of lifestyle buyers in the market looking for bargains. And there are certainly plenty of bargains around. The news provider added that many investors like to buy and restore a Riad in places such as Marrakech, Essaouria and Fez, although it noted that sometimes this can be costly. Many European tourists have also elicited considerable interest in making Morocco their second home due to the country’s proximity to the western part of the continent.

According to overseas property portal Propertyabroad, The portfolio of investors in Morocco is diverse, ranging from second home luxury villas, residential homes to rented houses. In addition, cheap off-plan property is also in the peak among investors. Moroccan holiday property is also highly traded among the property investors here, which means they get maximum value for their property within no time, as the property trends have really been positive over the last few years.

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Morocco’s Monetary Policy Council has lowered commercial banks’ reserve rate by 2.0 percentage points to 8 percent to ease a liquidity crunch. Meanwhile, the Council decided to leave the benchmark interest rate the same at 3.25 percent, as a result of slowing inflation. The last time when the bank had cut the rate was in March this year when the rate was trimmed by 0.25 percent point to 3.25 percent.

Earlier in June, The Council had trimmed the reserve by two percentage points to 10 percent before cutting it to 8 percent this time- its lowest in 50 years. In news of interest for overseas property investors, the bank said it expects inflation would remain low from now until the fourth quarter of 2010.

According to the press release from the bank, “Noting the scope and sustained nature of liquidity shortage on the money market and taking into consideration the outlook of liquidity factors, it decided to reduce the required reserve ratio by 2 percent to 8 percent as of October 1, 2009. ”

The Central Bank Governor Abdellatif Jouahri said the council could reduce the reserve rate further when it meets later in December. The Central Bank expects Morocco’s economic growth up by 6 percent this year, almost the same growth rate as the previous year, mainly on a strong performance of the key farming industry, Jouahri added. But he urged business and government leaders to step up reforms to put the country on a stronger path of growth.

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The Moroccan government recently set aside US$37.3 million to invest in the tourism sector. The agreement which was signed in Rabat, between the government and the National Tourism Federation and. The plans are to spend the money to increase the number of travelers to Morocco as well as to invest in new resorts and transportation links.

Tourism Minister Mohammed Boussaid said s it is inappropriate to talk of a crisis, stating that the industry has performed well in light of the extent of the world crisis. He said tourist arrivals rose by 10 percent in the first four months of 2009, saying the same upward trend, went on during the month of May with 11 percent.

According to official figures released by the ministry of tourism, at the end of April, the room occupancy rate was down to 41%, compared with 44% a year earlier. The number of overnight stays in rated hotel accommodation was down 3% over the first four months of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008.

However, the minister explained that the drop in overnight stays in hotels also owes to greater choice of accommodation types, quoting a ministry study from April 2009, which showed that 50% of tourists prefer to stay in guesthouses or apartments rather than hotel rooms. The Moroccan government has set up an incentive mechanism to encourage residential tourism as well as support mechanisms to improve investments towards carrying out tourist projects which is expected to boost the holiday rental market.

According to Magharebia.com, Tourism professionals signed an agreement with the government on June 9th to bolster the sector and to undertake new measures to protect the vital sector from the worst effects of the global economic crisis. The specific goal was to increase share in six priority markets (France, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and the Benelux countries) and measures aimed at prospecting new markets. A budget of 300 million dirhams was set aside to promote Morocco as a destination and to develop the provision of air travel for tourists.

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Some 5 million tourists have visited Morocco over the first half of 2009, an 8 % rise on the same period last year, the Tourism department has said.

French tourists topped the list with 1.94 million (+8%) followed by Spaniards with 1.11 million (+14 %) and Belgians with 291,000 (+16%), the German (176,000, +8 %), the Dutch (163,000, +15 %), the British (154,000, -13 %) and the Italians (130,000, +10 %).

The rise had no impact on the number of overnight stays which slipped by 2% to reach some 9.5 million, while the occupancy rate reached 41%, against 45% last year. Over the reporting period, travel receipts have fallen 14.4%, the Tourism Department said.

Morocco has allocated MAD 300 million for a marketing campaign to promote the country’s ailing tourism sector. Earlier this year, Morocco had launched a new strategy Dubbed “Cap 2009″ and the MAD 550-million plan was set aside with tactical measures designed to alleviate the impact of the financial crisis on this vital sector.

In news of interest to foreign property investors, The African Development Bank (AfDB) decided to grant Morocco a loan of MAD euro 240 million to upgrade the country’s airport infrastructures. The loan concerns to open up the domestic market to competition, and strengthen and modernizing transport networks in Casablanca, Fez, Agadir, Marrakech and Rabat, airports, which handle the bulk of air traffic to and from Morocco, said the AfDB in a press release.

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The new budget airline from Morocco, Air Arabia Marco started flights from London Stansted with four flights per week.

Air Arabia Marco has said it will set up its new base in Casablanca and will run a service using two new A320 aircraft that will fly between London Stansted and Casablanca four times each week. This is expected to boost visitor numbers to the country, which in turn could make it easier not only for those buying property there to reach it, but also raise demand for private rental homes.

Casablanca is one of Morocco’s most popular tourist destinations due to its mixture of historic and colonial architecture, plus many modern festivals. and a visit to this fascinating country would be incomplete without exploring Casablanca. Work on the Casablanca hub is well under way and will be ready this year. Air Arabia Maroc will make it easier, and more affordable, for travelers to visit this exotic city.

Mohammed Boussaid, Moroccan tourism minister said that the country is preparing itself for an influx of tourists from Europe as they opt for the country over more expensive, far-flung destinations. Property investors considering making purchases in Morocco may be encouraged by Mr Boussaid’s comments and invest in homes in the area to potentially benefit from the steady flow of tourists.

In related news, the city is also due to get a faster rail link to Tangier by 2016, cutting journey times from five hours to two, according to Magharebia.com reports.

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Morocco’s emergence as a hot property destination for foreign investors is extremely stunted by the credit crunch but its economy has remained strong with masses of growth potential.

A number of trusted organizations including the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund have predicted that the Moroccan economy with growth of over 5% this year. The main reason is the record levels of rainfall which is leading to massive growth in food production and agricultural exports. But even taking food out of the equation Moroccan economic growth was still recorded at 1.9% across all other sectors in the first quarter of this year.

According to John Howell a senior partner with the International Law Partnership calls the North African nation as a more adventurous destination for foreign investors, but one that can offer “considerable reward”.

In an interview with AboutProperty.com, he listed reasons that its closeness to Europe is good for UK consumers looking to purchase bricks and mortar away from their home shores. “It is French speaking and so communication is less of a problem than other destinations and it has good weather almost all year round’” he explained.

Finance minister Salaheddine Mezouar stated that significant growth is expected this year, standing by original forecasts.He explained that the country’s economy is still in line for its 5.8 per cent target, according to Reuters reports.

“We are still convinced that our economy has the potential to achieve growth of more than five per cent in 2009 despite the context,” Mr. Mezouar was quoted as saying.

According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports, Moroccan tourism minister Mohammed Boussaid said that Morocco is expecting to see a growth in visitor numbers from Europeans as they choose the north African destination over more distant locations in order to save money.

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