Property prices in Marrakech - sustainable??

c4thy

Hi guys,

I was browsing through some of the recent news articles on the marrakech property market, and was quite stunned to read the following:

"Prices in high demand areas, including Casablanca and Marrakech, average around £2,000 per square meter and could rise by 40 per cent within three years, according to experts at The Property Investor Show, providing an incentive to invest."

While this sounds great and woohoo to the investors that have already invested, my concern is really sustainability - can the prices really sustain themselves, and what kind of clientele are we looking at who will buy at £2k per sq.m.!!!?

Being Marrakech and all, it is an exclusive area, but Morocco IS A poor country and these kind of prices seem very unrealistic for such a market.

Any thoughts / comments?

octanorm

I starded to invest in Marrakech last year. I was looking for luxury villa's but I don' like off plan projects like Samanah countries etc because you have a choose of X type of villa's and you cann't have you own modern villa. I think also for this prices people don't won't to have the same villa as his friend.
So I started to built 3 luxury villa's on the Amelkis Golf in different style one classic , one modern minimalisme , one modern high class. Two villa's will be finished in january 2008. Because the rental profit is very strong in Amelkis Golf , I was looking for an real estate agency in Marrakech but with no success ...they are not working in the European norms but in their moroccan norms ....they are not really promoted your villa in the world but just waiting because they prefer to sell villa's ....no control of you villa ...no trust , I had heart that some agencies rent you villa and don' inform you , so they take the money etc
Every villa will have 2 personnel staff employes (1kitchen women , 1 gardien)and so I decided to started rental villa's with hotel facilities. I will started a company in Belgium and one in Marrakech to rent not only 3 villa's but also others. One of my son will promoted the villa's in Europe to golf clubs , event company's, luxe tour operateurs etc . The other son will live in Marrakech to control every day the villa's (control of staff etc) , reception of the clients at airport , concierge service , promote the villa in morocco (festival film in Marrakech etc) etc. The idea is to start a high service of luxury stay in Marrakech based on European norms (we all are from Belgium). We will promoted the villa's with a high level website (on first page of google) , present on minimum 5 others websites (portails) a brochure and local prospection by my son in all Europe (starting with Benelux, Uk and France)
Or goal is to guarentee minimum 150 days rental occupacy after two years promotion. This will be ore main business. On the other hand we can help futur investors to buy and built in Marrakech (only). Since we are there we have a lot of serious contacts with lawers, architects and builder. We going only in luxury investment because that is or experience and in real estates the important things for good returns are : location , location but also a choose between low or high level investment never middle level , we choose for high level in investment and service because that's the futur

camel

A friend of mine has just approached completion in Mararakech. He informed me that his property is 35m2, short of what was on the plans & contract.

All of you buying/completing in Morocco, should be aware of it.

moroccobound

Camel

Caveat emptor no matter where in the world you buy so everyone should be careful. Cross the 't's and dot the 'i's and most importantly have a very good notary! Do you homework!!!