Moroccan property market attracting wealthy investors

The Moroccan luxury property market is attracting domestic as well as wealthy foreign investors, a new report has found.

The report from Aylesford International says that the country has witnessed significant economic growth over the last decade thanks to the strong macroeconomic policies.

Morocco is one of the few countries in the wider North African region that have rarely experienced social unrest. Tourism and home industry are the most prolific industries of the country and are the keys to its economic stability.

The report also says that there is now a considerable expat community in Morocco and the foreign residents are mainly from the European and Latin American countries.  The country’s liberal inheritance laws, moderate property transaction costs and the provision of excellent, high-end properties are the key reasons behind their attraction towards it.

However, recently, the economic performance of Morocco has witnessed deceleration due to the slow growth in European Union, particularly in Spain and France who are its main export partners.  To that end, Morocco’s Budget in 2013 has imposed taxes on buying and selling the property.

When buying a property, there is an agent commission of 2.5%, VAT of 10% Notary fee of 1% plus a Notarial tax of 0.5%. Additionally, there is also land registration fee of 3%-4%.

When selling a property there is no particular inheritance tax but gift tax like Capital Gains may be levied at a flat rate of 20%. The minimum 3% has been imposed on the transfer of property.

The Properties that are attracting foreign buyers include a 5-bedroom villa in Marrakech with two guest houses, a three hectare garden, tennis courts and pool priced at €2.9 million and a 4-6 bed villa in a private estate that includes a spa, a luxury boutique hotel and an 18-hole golf course, priced at €1.91 million.

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