Rabat- A major priority for Morocco’s soon-to-be declared government will be implementing the reforms necessary to revive the real estate and construction sector, which has been hard hit by the health crisis.
Anis Benjelloun, vice-president of the National Federation of Real Estate Developers (FNPI), says the government’s 2010 social housing program of MAD 250,000 ($ 27,530), which ended in 2020, must be relaunched in the same form, or a similar program.
“No alternative has seen the light of day since the end of the program in December 2020, while the demand will become even more pressing in the coming years, in view of the migration to coastal towns of rural populations, with the very serious risk of resorting to illegal housing and slums, ” Benjelloun told Moroccan news outlet Le360.
FNPI recalls that reforms to revive real estate require a re-organization of legal and regulatory frameworks, the relaxing of administrative procedures, and the introduction of tax exemptions to benefit clients. “We ask that the next government organize either a round table or a real estate meeting, bringing together all the administrative stakeholders (Ministry of Housing, the Interior, Finance, the General Directorate of Taxes, etc.) to decide on a new policy to follow in terms of Habitat,” Benjelloun said.
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As Aziz Akhannouch, the newly appointed Prime Minister prepares to announce his future cabinet, construction professionals and real estate promoters appear to be particularly interested in the profile of the Minister-to-be of Housing and Urbanism. They maintain that they “want the appointment of a manager who has perfect knowledge of the sector” and hopes he or she will be able to meet their standards, according to Benjelloun.
Besides contributing 6.8% of the GDP, the real estate and construction sectors generate almost a million cumulative jobs, 27% of VAT revenues, and 30% of outstanding bank loans in Morocco.
During the post-pandemic period, real estate expert Adnane Bajeddi, who is also a member of Morocco’s member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), said in a recent interview that Morocco is “currently witnessing a decline in the prices of real estate assets, which is quite natural, as prices become fairer”
“Under the effect of current economic constraints, sellers are more and more inclined to set their prices with measure, in order to ensure a quick transaction,” Bajeddi said.
The increase in the volume of real estate transactions, Bajeddi argued, can also be attributed to the resumption of demand from businesses and other factors such as the tax incentive for registration fees, which results in the purchase of the property being entirely tax-free for social housing or low-rent properties and a 50% discount on residential property acquisitions (under certain circumstances).
It also involves lowering mortgage rates to encourage mortgage outstandings, which increased by 4.4% as of May 2021. According to Bajeddi, transfers by Moroccans living abroad (MRE) increased by 48% compared to the first half of 2020, amounting to over MAD 44.19 billion ($ 4.8 million).
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