Morocco: The New Spain

A few years ago, British buyers who would have been searching to invest in Spain are turning to the Moroccan property market, said information providers Spanish Living.

Ailse Farlene, marketing director of Spanish Living also said, “Within the Spanish Living group, we’ve started to look at property around the world – and we’ve noticed an awful lot of British buyers are interested in very cheap property in Morocco. Morocco is how the south of Spain was ten years ago. So you can get apartments from around 15,000 to 20,000 euros.”

In a recent Knight Frank forecast, Morroco was named as the fourth most profitable investment for 2007, next to the top three: Lithuania, Latvia and Slovenia. House prices are expected to rise by 15 per cent this year, as compared with 20 per cent in Lithuania and 7.5 per cent in other so-called ‘hot spots’ such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Montenegro.

According to Jim Orr who bought two properties in the golf and marina resort Mediterrania-Saidia with his wife, “Prices in Morocco are substantially lower than those for comparable properties in Spain. In the eight months since we bought the apartment off-plan, its value has already increased by more than £20,000.”

“First-time buyers – some of them unable to afford a porperty in the UK – are among those feeling the benefits, with the value of their investments growing before their eyes. Typically, a buyer who paid £40,000 for a two-bedroom apartment near Tangier six months ago, now owns a property worth around £65,000 and its value will keep rising,” said Paul Staines, a partner in Saffron Villas.

The growing tourism industry, the increase in the high-profile developments and the easy access to the country are some of the contributing factors in the property growth in Morocco. Staines further said, “ Enquiry levels have been boosted by the new availability of low-cost direct flights to Morocco from firms like Easyjet and Ryanair.” Ryanair even asserted to be dedicated to the Vision 2010 programme in Morocco that aims to reach at least 5,000 more tourists for the 2010 Football World Cup. Andy Wellard, spokesman for the Property Showrooms, remarked, “They’re going to put on 20 new routes from the UK and Ireland to Morocco to bring, hopefully, over a million passengers per year.”

Investment of British buyers should be safe from fluctuations with Morocco’s strong econony, good investment climate and stable currency. “Morocco’s infrastructure is rapidly improving and the government is committed to increasing foreign investment and improving the tourism industry. Prices are still low – where a large villa would cost £500,000 in Spain, it’s priced at £180,000 outside Tangiers,” commented Kate Godfrey of Property Frontier.

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Morocco: The New Spain

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