Buying a House in Marrakech?

The New York Times has just run an article on buying a restored riad in Marrakech. It comes as no surprise that they have concentrated on the very top end of the market.  While prices have dropped across the country, the Marrakech market still appears over inflated. By contrast the prices in Fez are far more reasonable.

Restored 19th century home in Marrakech - $1.3 million (11 million Dirhams) 

This traditional Moroccan house (pictured above) , known as a riad, has 4,300 square feet of space over two floors surrounding an enclosed courtyard. Dating to the 19th century, it has five bedroom suites and a multilevel roof terrace with views of the minarets of the medina, or old city, of Marrakech, according to Younes Cherkaoui, an agent with Mauresque Immobilier, which has the listing.

Built by a respected local family and called Riad L’Aziza, the house was restored about 12 years ago; it now serves as a guesthouse and is being sold furnished.

 The courtyard, divided into four symmetrical plant beds with a central fountain, has walkways, columns and other plaster-covered surfaces set with elaborate terra-cotta tilework of blue, green, gold and cream. Rooms opening onto the courtyard on the ground floor include a Moorish living room bordered with delicately carved plaster designs and a carved cedar ceiling.

Nearby are three bedroom suites with tiled walls; their bathrooms are walled in colorful plaster. The ground floor also has an office and a kitchen with a service entrance.

The second floor has two bedroom suites, each with a fireplace and a private terrace.

The salmon-colored roof terrace has three open-air living and dining rooms at different levels, along with an area for sunbathing and a spa room. Arched doorways and transoms of intricately carved cedar are found throughout the house, as are stained glass, ornate ironwork and traditional Moroccan sconces and rugs.

The riad is in the center of Marrakech in the medina, about a five-minute walk from the main square, Jemaa El Fna. Riad L’Aziza is about 20 minutes from the international airport, Mr. Cherkaoui said.


 MARKET OVERVIEW 

 In the five years leading to the international financial crisis in 2008, house prices in Morocco rose 35 to 40 percent; since the crisis they have settled in at 20 to 30 percent below their peak, said Loïc Raboteau, the head of the French and North Africa Law Department at the law firm Kobalt Law in London.

Foreign buyers typically constitute about 10 percent of the residential real estate market, and many prospective buyers have had a “wait-and-see” attitude about North Africa since the crisis, compounded since then by the turmoil of the Arab Spring, which started in 2011, said Soraya Fahim, a manager of the residential department at the brokerage CBRE in Morocco.

 Tourist areas like Marrakech and Tangier area have been the hardest hit. But the Moroccan government’s demonstrated stability and the passage of new fiscal policies have had an encouraging effect on foreign buyers, particularly from France, Ms. Fahim said.

 According to Mr. Raboteau, prices in Marrakech last year decreased by 1.7 percent while remaining stable nationally; the number of property transactions countrywide increased by 7.8 percent.

The highest-end properties are selling for about 2,500 euros per square meter currently, or about $300 a square foot, said James Price, the head of the international development team for the brokerage Knight Frank. Riad L’Aziza is priced in this range.


 WHO BUYS IN MARRAKECH

 Most foreign buyers tend to come from France, Belgium and Switzerland, Ms. Fahim said. “We’ve also noticed recently some demand coming from countries like Russia and the United Kingdom,” she added.

Moroccans living abroad also constitute an important group of buyers and investors.


 BUYING BASICS

 There are no restrictions on foreign buyers, Mr. Raboteau said. The process resembles that of France, in that notaries handle most aspects of the transaction, though foreign buyers would be advised to hire an independent lawyer as well.

“Don’t expect the notary will give you legal advice,” Mr. Raboteau said. “His role is to check the identity of the parties, draft and register the deeds.”

Buyers can expect to pay about 6 percent of the sale price in taxes and fees, he said. Mortgages are available, with a down payment of at least 30 percent.

 WEB SITES 

Riad L’Aziza site: Riadlaziza.com 
Moroccan National Tourist Office: VisitMorocco.com
Moroccan government portal: Maroc.ma
Official Marrakech travel guide: Marrakech.travel 

 LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

 Arabic, Berber; Moroccan dirham (1 dirham = $0.12)

TAXES AND FEES

 The annual property taxes on this home are about 6,000 dirhams, or around $695.

 CONTACT

Younes Cherkaoui, Mauresque Immobilier, 011-212-6-6000-5555, mauresque-immobilier.com

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Marrakech Tourism - Going Upmarket?

For sometime there has been quiet grumbling about tourism in Morocco. The Euro crisis, the bungle by the national airport authority, ONDA, that resulted in Ryanair and Easyjet cancelling flights and concerns over the so-called Arab Spring have all taken their toll.  But now there is a push to talk up Marrakech as a place to buy property. Why? Maybe because a lot of people have their properties on the market? Because better times are just around the corner?

A recent article in The Times opens with the odd statement : "Before Morocco goes too upmarket, it’s a great time to make a long-term investment in a Maison d’hôte". The article goes on to assert that buying a guest house (a Maison d'hote) was: "a fashion trend led by the French — buy a run-down riad in a Moroccan medina, restore it and spend your days entertaining bohemian travellers and shopping in the souk".

The property market in Marrakech has developed into a real slump. Most guesthouses are reporting much lower occupancy rates than the last few years and a number of established guesthouses are on the market. The numbers for sale are, however, deceptive because although prices have dropped around 25%, some properties still have unrealistic price tags and are listed on the off-chance the Russians are looking to buy into the 'kech'. It may also be that there is a correction in the market, for Marrakech has been floating in a property bubble of its own creation for some years.

If Stuart Redcliffe, chairman of the British Riads and Villas Group, is to be believed, things are pretty grim for existing property owners. Redcliffe is quoted in The Times article saying that Marrakech has an oversupply problem and that "occupancy levels have dropped from an average of 75 per cent four years ago to 30 per cent today" He notes that in 2006 their were 500 boutique hotels in the city and that now there are 1500 plus many more being built on the outskirts.

While many would agree with him when he says there will be a rationalisation of the market, what is peculiar about Redcliffe's evaluation of the market is his belief that there is also a move by the King to dissuade cheap package holidays and flights in his bid to move Morocco upmarket, something Redcliffe sees as positive for boutique hotel owners.

The thought that a leader of a country would try to dissuade tourist of any kind, is a bizarre notion.and most commentators disagree with Redcliffe's  suggestion that the King is attempting such a thing. Fred Sola from Fez Real Estate was blunt. "Such a notion is ridiculous,"he said.

The further one reads the article in The Times, the more it appears like an advertorial push to build up a flagging market. Given the downturn, the lack of buyers and the low occupancy rates, one would have expected a more sober assessment than  "It is, though, the perfect time to pick up a riad — either with the intention of taking a long-term view on the business potential or to turn it into a private home."
Really?

Philip Arnott, director of Moroccan Properties Immobilier and vice-chairman of the British Business Group Marrakech, is also quoted in the article and agrees that riads are not selling as well as they did pre-recession. He also speculates that some inner-city riad guesthouses are being sold because they lack the official Maison d’hôte certification, something he believes the Government is becoming stricter about. Arnott warns buyers to be aware that they need to check the property has both a Maison d’hôte certificate, if they want to run it as a business, and French title deeds. They will also need a 20 per cent deposit.

So what would a functioning riad in Marrakech cost you? For a six bedroom, six bathroom riad with only 25 to 50% occupancy you can expect to stump up around 480,000 Euro. As one Real Estate professional said, "everything is for sale in Marrakech."

While many of the symptoms suffered by Marrakech are present in Fez, the contagion is far less severe. The upper end of the guesthouse market is doing very well, with places like Riad Laaroussa, Riad Rcif, Maison Blue and Palais Armani having high occupancy rates.  The area of the market that is suffering is the lower end - 60 Euros a night places - where occupancy rates are down and the businesses are suffering from the decline in budget tourism.

Like Marrakech, Fez has a number of guesthouses on the market, but, as Fred Sola says, even with a drop of thirty percent in prices, there are simply no buyers.  The French newspaper Le Monde also has a recent article claiming that now is the time to buy. Talking the market up is back in fashion.

But let us leave you with the final words  which struck us as part pie in the sky and part blue sky dreaming...

With the King of Morocco keen to promote his country as an upmarket tourist destination — Ryanair flights are being replaced by more from British Airways, for instance, and finance is finally flowing for stalled luxury developments and hotels — the fashion for Marrakesh could be about to turn haute couture.

Accurate or a case of wishful thinking?

You can read the full text of this article here: The Times

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Sale of Fez Medina House to Benefit Local Orphanage

Anyone who studies the property market in the Fez Medina will know that at the moment there are a good number of properties for sale at reasonable prices. This means that as a seller, you need to have something special - a little extra. Now one man has come up with a unique and generous idea. He has offered to donate 10,000 Euro from the sale of his properties to a local orphanage.

the view is superb

The View from Fez is not in the property business, but the idea of raising money for the Centre Amal Orphanage at Hospital Ghassani in Fes is a good one and so we investigated.

For sale are two adjacent properties - one with the dwelling and the other a garden - located in a quiet street running between the Medina's two main thoroughfares. The site area totals 260 sq. metres. Property experts will tell you that finding a well situated riad or dar that has land attached is not common. At the centre of the property is a beautiful antique mosaic courtyard and fountain.

examples of fine plaster and zellij work

Only one landlord owns the portfolio of properties, avoiding complicated and negotiations with real estate agents. The property’s title deed has been converted from an Arabic to a French title, which makes any transaction more secure and easy to execute. Asking price is around 255,000 Euro.

The project includes architectural plans for building an extension. The dwelling, believed to date from late 18th century, is a fine example of traditional Moroccan architecture, and it is In the heart of this property is an antique mosaic courtyard and fountain, typical to Fassi architecture.

The accommodation includes: 6 bedrooms, 1 staff bedroom, 2 living rooms, kitchen, internal courtyard and 2 roof terraces. The first roof terrace has plenty of space for sunbathing and al fresco dining. The second upper roof terrace has magnificent 360-degree views across the Medina and beyond to the Atlas Mountains.

a future bedroom or lounge area

The interior design and architecture of this property display some good examples of traditional Moroccan craftsmanship:
• The walls are covered with outstanding hand-carved plaster work.
• Throughout the building there are exceptional hand-carved cedar doors, windows and balconies.
• Magnificent hand-carved cedar wood bridges adorn the upper floors.
• The Riad has unusual zellij (handmade tiles) designs.
• Antique hand-made ironwork varies in design throughout the building.

The present owner says: “The property is a development opportunity for a boutique hotel or B&B with up to 12 bedrooms, garden, restaurant, pool and spa”.

For more information contact The View from Fez (theviewfromfez@gmail.com) and we will put you in touch with the owner. 

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International Spotlight on Fez Real Estate

After a very quiet time in the Moroccan real estate market, things look set to change. One early indicator is that major media players are giving space to stories about buying property in Morocco. From airline inflight magazines to the lofty heights of the New York Times, journalists are pointing to Morocco as a good place to invest.

What is particularly interesting is the attention is not on Marrakech, but Fez. Although Fez is the spiritual and cultural heart of the country, Marrakech has always been the 'party town' with a louche reputation akin to that of Tangier, and been the choice particularly of French investors. While Casablanca is the commercial heart, it has not attracted attention from British, American and French home buyers. So, what is happening in Fez, and why the attention?

The first unusual thing about the Fez market is that it is actually two different markets - the World Heritage listed Medina and the Ville Nouvelle or New City. The Ville Nouvelle is often the choice of Moroccans and those with businesses there, but for foreigners the charm of the Medina, being car-free, with its medieval houses and labyrinthine alley ways, is the key point.

A riad for sale in Fez  - in perfect condition

Then, having chosen the Medina, there is another choice to be made; a riad or a dar. A riad is normally larger and has an open central courtyard with trees, a fountain or garden. A dar is smaller, with a central courtyard that can often be closed over against inclement weather. Dars do not have a central garden or fountain although they may often have a wall fountain.

Another consideration is the age of the house. David Amster, in his fine website A House in Fez.com has this to say: In terms of age, you need to decide whether you want a older house, generally 17th to 19th century, or a "neotraditional" house from the early 20th century. Older houses are more interesting, but generally need more restoration and are deeper in the medina. Note too that the age of a medina house is often hard to determine. There is often a date on the plaster above one of the main salon doors, but this is the date in the Islamic calendar of when that plaster was completed and generally has nothing to do with when the house was built. It's also normal for doors, beams, carved plaster, and zellij to be replaced every one to two hundred years, which means that a seven-hundred-year-old house sometimes looks like it's 19th century.

For sale a potential maison d'hôte

Quoted in a recent New York Times article, Cédric Elsener, the owner of Maroc Immobilier Capital, says, “The Medina is really bewitching. It has a weird effect on you. Either you love it or you hate it — nothing in between.” According to Frédéric Sola, owner of Fez Real Estate, a company that sells and renovates riads in the Medina, “Time stopped about five centuries ago. What you see in the Medina, you don’t see anywhere else in the world.”

Also quoted in the New York times is Tim McTighe, a partner of Fes Properties, which sells, restores and manages properties in the Medina. Like others he reflects that the property market has been slow since 2008. “I’d say the glory days were between 2004 and 2007,” said Mr. McTighe. He and other brokers attribute that primarily to the global economic downturn, though they acknowledge that the regional political turmoil of the Arab Spring hasn’t helped. “Unfortunately some people put Morocco in the same basket” as Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and other strife-torn countries in the area, said Mr. McTighe, suggesting that possible investors might be watching and waiting. “But Morocco is a very peaceful country, night and day with a country like Libya.”

Fred Sola points out that despite the sluggish market prices have not fallen sharply, because there are fewer properties on the market. “There have been some good bargains from foreigners who had to resell riads quickly,” said Mr. Sola. Mr. Elsener said it was a good time to buy, especially given improvements in Fez’s accessibility. “There are more direct flights to Europe,” he said, “and they are working to double the size of capacity at the airport. We also have a new highway that opened last June — from Fez you can drive to the Mediterranean in two and a half hours.”

One changing demographic is the nationality of those purchasing properties. For a long time the major buyers were French, but with the increase in budget airline flights to Morocco, other nationalities are catching up. Also present in the market are Belgians, Italians, Americans, Britons and several Australian or New Zealanders. While a majority of investors are buying in order to set up a guesthouse, a small number are buying private residences.

Traditional restoration takes time and money 

The initial purchase of a house can be a relatively simple procedure, however, the cost of restoration needs to be factored in. In general terms, restoration is likely to cost two to three times the purchase price, depending on the structural condition of the building. Those who have been through the renovation process will be quick to advise that it is best to be on site for any major work as communicating day to day decisions by email or telephone is far from efficient. For this reason, a growing number of buyers are looking at properties where a majority of the restoration work is already completed.

Further reading:

David Amster's site
Suzanna Clarke's A House in Fez 
Tahir Shah's The Caliph's House

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Marrakech - a city of contrasts

Marrakech is a place of amazing contrasts as a stroll around the souks will quickly demonstrate. However, before our roving correspondent, Derek Workman leads you around the Medina streets, pause to consider a little real estate opportunity.

A breathtaking traditional Moroccan palace in Marrakech at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, has been listed for sale via an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate for a staggering $28 million.

Photo Courtesy of Christies International Real Estate

 Boasting nearly 50,000 square feet of interior space, the magnificent interior has been designed and furnished with exceptional taste in the colloquial style with every possible luxury and refinement. There are four incredibly spacious bedrooms and four spa-style baths in the main part of the residence.

The exclusive grandeur of the charismatic architecture offers luxurious living spaces. Finished with exquisite craftsmanship, every detail has been done by hand with liberal use of precious marbles, mosaics and stone. Set amidst a magnificent garden with pools, flowing water, fountains and secret passages, it has been situated to guarantee absolute peace and tranquility to its owners.

Marrakech has long been a fashionable destination for stylish jet setters. The late Yves Saint-Laurent maintained a vacation house there and fellow French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier still does.

Derek Workman decided the "absolute peace and tranquility" was not exactly his style, so decided on a slightly cheaper option - a stroll in the Medina.

I took a stroll around the souk in Marrakech yesterday afternoon, watching the artisans at work, and an interview I did with a Spanish hotel owner a while ago came to mind. He’d spent a couple of years working in Marrakech and had built up a lot of contacts in the small workshops. He told me that there’s no such thing as discounts for buying in bulk because the idea of mass-production almost doesn’t exist. For example, if you negotiated with a lamp maker to take his production of perhaps twenty lamps a week, that was about the best you would get. If you wanted two hundred a week either you’d have to go to ten makers yourself or have someone do it for you, preferably a local who knows ten lamp makers, who would then add his commission. You’d get the quantity you wanted, but it would actually cost you more than the first lot per item you bought from the original small workshop. So there you go.

It never ceases to amaze me, the quality of workmanship that comes out of a workshop measuring about four metres square. There are certain parts of the souk dedicated to particular products; the metal workers souk, the djellaba sellers souk, but if you drift out to the periphery, away from the tourists around Djemaa el Fna, you come to what are basically workers suburbs, but not suburbs as we might know them.
Lined along the streets and in tucked-away little back alleys, a barber with one chair patched with electrician’s tape and a cracked mirror will work next to a tin-smith slowly turning a piece of metal, as he punches ornate designs into it to make the beautiful lamps that cast starbursts of light when illuminated; alongside him woodcarvers and masonry workers etch intricate designs into their chosen materials, a butcher whose sole stock consists of a camel’s head suspended from a hook and a pile of congealing grey innards. (If you want to find out what camel’s meat taste like, get down to the food stalls in Djemaa el Fna at night and you can delight your taste buds.)
Dark caverns are lit by a single flourescent tube showing olives, olive oil and vats of preserved lemons for that emblematic Moroccan dish, poulet au citron. Single-portion tajines cook on a hot-plate beside a food stall, made from a couple of paper-covered low tables and a few old stools, with the cook selling battered fish deep-fried in a blackened old frying pan. A shop with a collection of beautiful antique tea pots on display shows, on further inspection, shelves of second-hand kettles for sale at the back.

Those who can’t afford a shop will have a carton of Marlboro open on a cardboard box counter, selling cigarettes individually, (you can recognise the itinerant cigarette seller by the sound of the coins he jingles in his hand as he walks around); a family-sized block of almond chocolate is cut into narrow strips, each offering four small, square bites; carrots tied in small bundles and spicy green peppers sold in threes, just enough for a tajine.

Estate agents buy, sell and rent from bedraggled hidey-holes furnished with a beaten-up old desk and a couple of 50s tubular steel kitchen chairs. Their properties must all be filed in their heads because there is no sign of paperwork. Five-hundred-year-old doors with great studded nail-heads, lacquered with layers of ancient brown paint, stand open to reveal walls tiled in a mixture of gaudy seventies factory rejects.
And above all, there is the ubiquitous mint tea.

Derek Workman is an English journalist living in Valencia City, Spain – although he admits to a love of Morocco and would love to up sticks and move here. To read more about life in Spain visit Spain Uncovered. Articles and books can also be found at Digital Paparazzi.

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Moroccan property set to move

One of the many properties on offer: this five bedroom guest house in the Fez Medina is for sale at 540,000 euros through Fez Real Estate. 

The Moroccan property market has been in the doldrums for the past few years, but according to The Sunday Times, buyers are set to return.

In an article published last weekend, writer Zoe Dare Hall points out that Morocco, along with Turkey, is an attractive alternative to Spain, Italy and France and has considerably lower prices.

Since King Mohammed VI opened the skies with a view to increasing tourism, the abundance of cheap flights to Morocco has made the country a haven for those looking for a beautiful and unusual home or retreat.

While property prices rocketed in 2006-7, especially in Marrakesh, the global financial crisis; public perception of the Arab Spring and the bombing in Marrakesh in April have combined to dampen recent investment. However, the bombing appears to be an isolated incident and Morocco has remained stable during the recent political upheavals. With the debt troubles in Greece likely to impact on the entire eurozone, Dare Hall suggests that now is a good time to invest in Morocco.

Renovated four-bedroom riads near Djemaa el Fna square start at £370,000 through Savills (020 7016 3740, savills.com), but less touristy cities like Fez, Essaouira, on the Atlantic coast, Tangier, on the Strait of Gibraltar, offer better opportunities. You can find old houses in Fez for as little as £20,000 through Fez Real Estate (00 212 535 637775, fez-realestate.com). They also list high-end properties, such as the guest house shown above.

If you want to let out your property, while Marrakesh remains the strongest market for short-term lets, it is worth considering Casablanca suggests Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies, head of marketing for Holidaylettings.co.uk. “Demand for lets there is phenomenal, but we have little inventory.”

You can find the full article on The Sunday Times website.

Morocco makes progress - despite regional turmoil

In spite of regional unrest and rising commodity prices, leading to an increase in the trade deficit, the prospects for the Moroccan economy are encouraging, according to Global Arab Network and the highly respected Oxford Business Group. They report that thanks to factors such as a strong harvest and broader diversification, the outlook for 2011 is promising. Inflation also remains low, as shown by figures for 2010 and the first five months of this year.

The Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.7% in real terms in 2010, The Moroccan High Planning Commission (Haut Commissariat du Plan – HCP) announced in early June, marking the 13th consecutive year of growth. The final result was 0.5 percentage points higher than the estimate the HCP had given in March and that the International Monetary Fund published in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) in April. While agricultural GDP fell slightly, non-agricultural growth stood at 4.5%, illustrating Morocco’s increasing diversification away from the once-dominant farming sector. A 4.7% increase in the value of exported goods and services also helped underpin the expansion. The result brings mean annual growth for the past five years to 4.9%, compared to 2.9% for the previous five-year period and -0.4% in the half-decade before that, underlining the extent to which the economy has been transformed over the past 15 years.

According to the IMF’s WEO figures released in April, Morocco is set for another year of healthy expansion in 2011, with GDP expected to rise to around 3.9% in 2011. The government is more optimistic still, with the Finance Ministry forecasting 5% growth. An anticipated strong harvest, thanks to good weather early in the year, should support a high rate of growth, given the continued importance of agriculture. The government’s assessment assumed a cereals harvest of 7m tonnes but the central bank, Bank Al Maghrib, forecast in June that it would reach 7.8m tonnes.

The tourism industry also helps underwrite the expansion. Although the number of nights has dropped in most major destinations, and Ramadan has furthered dampened vacancy rates, the sector’s receipts were up 8% year-on-year for the first five months of 2011. Economic recovery in Europe also helped push remittances up by 6.8% in the year to May.

Inflation remains firmly under control, standing at just under 1% in 2010 according to IMF estimates, a figure that was largely unchanged from 2009. The consumption price index in May was unchanged from the same point in the previous year, with a 0.8% fall in the price of food having effectively cancelled out a 0.8% rise in non-food prices. However, the underlying inflation rate – which does not include the prices of goods that are regarded as volatile or those with prices set by the state – stood at 1.4% in May. While the WEO figures forecast inflation to reach 2.9% for 2011 as a whole, in June Bank Al Maghrib lowered its inflation prediction for 2011 from 2.1% to 1.4%, thanks in large part to a drop in food prices. It therefore opted to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25%.

According to the HCP, the official unemployment rate fell in the first quarter of 2011 to 9.1%, down from 10% in the same quarter of 2010 and 9.2% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Urban unemployment was down 0.4 percentage points from its level in the final quarter of 2010 to 13.3%, while the rural joblessness rate rose by 0.1 percentage points, to 4.3%.

Similarly, official figures for urban unemployment for people between the ages of 15 and 24 was down 2.3 percentage points on the previous quarter, an encouraging trend given that urban youth joblessness has been one of the most stubborn categories of unemployment. While the unemployment rate has fluctuated slightly in recent years, with unofficial estimates often suggesting higher levels of unemployment, over the longer term increased growth has successfully helped to bring joblessness down from 14-15% in the late 1990s.

While performance across a range of indicators remains strong, the economy nevertheless faces some challenges in 2011. High oil and wheat prices helped push the trade deficit for the year to May up 25% on the same period in 2010, to Dh76.6bn (€6.65bn). While a 50% increase in the value of phosphate and phosphate product sales abroad helped drive a 22% increase in exports on the first five months of 2010, to Dh69.9bn (€6.07bn), they were outpaced by a 23.7% rise in the value of imports.

Imports of oil by volume fell by just under 5% on the first five months in 2010 but nevertheless increased the import bill, due to a 31% rise in the average price of oil during the period. Wheat imports rose in volume – by 43% year-on-year – and in cost, with international prices having increased by 66%.

Despite some of its economic gains being eroded by expanding costs of imports, rising GDP and falling unemployment should see the growth trajectory continue its upward swing.

This information is provided by Oxford Business Group the acclaimed global publishing, research and consultancy firm.’: Oxford Business Group

The Moroccan Economy Sends Mixed Messages

While phosphates and viticulture show positive growth and returns, the tourism sector is still dormant and the real estate market is still languishing.

Phosphates exports spike

In the good news for Morocco, the country's exports of phosphates and spiked 44% in the year up to June, reaching 22.8 billion dirhams compared to 15.8 billion dirhams last year, said Morocco's exchange rate monitoring body, Office des changes.

Foreign sales of phosphates rose 47.3% hitting 5.72 billion dirhams up to the end of June, against 3.88 billion dirhams the same period last year.

Exports of natural and chemical fertilizers hiked 85% to stand at 9.4 billion dirhams, compared to 5.1billion dirhams last year, with a 32.4% rise in volume.

The Office des changes noted that the fertilizers' average export price reached 4,724 dirhams per tonne, against 3,381 dirhams in June 2010.

Following the same rising trend, Phosphoric acid posted a 12.2% increase yielding 7.6 billion dirhams compared to 6.8 billion dirhams last year, despite a decline of 15% in volume.


Viniculture generates almost 200 million dirhams

Viniculture in Morocco spans over an area of 49,000 hectares of vineyards yielding an annual production of 230,000 tonnes of grapes, including 172,000 tonnes of table grapes, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Aziz Akhennouch said.

The Minister, who was speaking recently during the annual festival of grapes in the commune of Charrat (south of Rabat), said that 71% of the area dedicated to the production of table grapes is in the regions of Doukala, Al Haouz, Benslimane, Rabat-Salé, Khemisset and Essaouira, while the wine grape vineyards are to be found in the regions of El Hajeb, Khemisset, Meknes, Gharb and Melouis.

Akhannouch highlighted the importance of the viticulture in the green Morocco plan to boost agricultural production, noting that vineyards generate no less than 196 million dirhams annually

Morocco's property bubble bursts

  Morocco's property bubble has burst. Starting in 2003, during the period of four years, prices have almost doubled or tripled depending on the city. in the region of Marrakesh, rates are down about 20 percent. Offers  now exceeds demand.

Morocco's Residential Real Estate ~ Update

This report from the Oxford Business Group
Prices in Morocco's residential real estate market are holding steady in 2011, with a slight overall decline balanced by increases in the key apartment segment and in some high-demand areas of the country. Residential rentals have also held up well and, in spite of the wave of political unrest in North Africa earlier this year, the development of major real estate projects is largely on track, with domestic investors and low-cost housing set to drive further growth.

According to figures released in February by Bank Al Maghrib, the Moroccan central bank, having risen 2.4% year-on-year at the end of September, residential real estate sale prices ended 2010 slightly down after a slow final quarter, at 0.9% below where they stood at end-2009 and 2% below end-September. However, the value of apartment sales - which account for the majority of transactions - rose slightly, up 0.3% on the previous year.

Fez and Marrakech see price rises

A number of areas, including the Fez-Boulmane and Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz regions, also bucked the trend, witnessing notable price increases. The sale value of apartments and houses increased by 1.3% and 2.3%, respectively, in the business capital, Casablanca, which accounted for 40% of all sales. Prices also held up well considering a 28.4% fall in the number of transactions in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. The Fez area appears set to continue in a positive way as it is not subject to security concerns and visitor numbers are expected to increase in the coming months.

The residential rental market appears to be performing more strongly, with property agencies reporting both a solid 2010 in terms of rentals and optimism regarding 2011. Rental prices are reported to have risen in the country's respective political and commercial capitals, Rabat and Casablanca.

Real estate in Fez

Are foreigners still buying houses in Fez? Just a few years ago, medina houses were being snapped up by people coming to Fez, encouraged by the low prices of property and also by the multitude of cheap flights, especially from the UK.

Then the bubble burst, the flights dried up, and buyers started to realise just how much that house was going to cost to restore (roughly about three times the purchase price).

Recently the Wall Street Journal carried an interesting article by Paul Ames:

"On holiday?" asked the young man, toweling down after a steam in the neighborhood hamam. "You should come and live here in Morocco, it's the best place to be, peaceful and the sun always shines."

I hesitated to agree, but then I'd just been prodded, pummeled and scrubbed by a one-eyed, monolingual masseur with an impish grin and long bushy beard who soon made me regret that I hadn't learned the Arabic word for "gently." By the time my tormentor had brought a second glass of sweet mint tea and the therapeutic effects of his robust rub down began to engender a warm, fuzzy glow, my outlook mellowed.

As I strolled back through the feast for the senses that is the Fes medina, watching the fading sun bathe countless minarets in golden light, it was easy to see why a growing number of westerners are setting up home in Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital.

"I was looking for somewhere culturally very different and this place just seemed extraordinary. Fes has this kind of essence about it, it grabs you and holds you," says Mike Richardson, a former London maître d' who moved to Fes four years ago. Mr. Richardson now runs the Café Clock, which has developed as a social hub for the expat community and hip young Fassi, as the city's inhabitants are known. It serves up exhibitions of Arab calligraphy, live Gnawa music and cross-cultural cuisine including the notorious camel burger.

Dating back to the 8th century, the old city of Fes is the Arab world's largest intact medina and is believed to be the biggest car-free urban area on the planet. Clustered around the great Al-Qarawinyn mosque, this tangle of tiny alleys, dark tunnels and exuberant souks was long viewed by Europeans as a remote and exotic destination. Ryanair's opening of direct, low-cost flights a few years ago to over a dozen cities on the other side of the Mediterranean has made Fes accessible. With an abundance of affordable traditional courtyard-houses, Fes suddenly found favor with westerners seeking a place in the sun.

"There was a gold rush," says David Amster, the American director of the Arabic Language Institute in Fes. "It got way out of control. Some people bought houses after only being in the city for three hours," adds Mr. Amster, who has lived in the medina since 1996. "It was like meeting somebody in a discotheque; you talk for a while and then wake up married, a mistake. Fes doesn't suit everybody … if you're interested in partying or fun in the sun, Fes is not the place."

Instead, Fes is a time capsule. Despite the countless satellite dishes clinging to the flat rooftops and the souks selling cell phones, Paul Bowles's description of 1950s Fes as "a medieval city functioning in the 20th century," still holds resonance. Lose yourself in the maze of medina lanes and you pass traders and artisans working in tiny storefronts: carpenters knocking together gaudy bridal thrones around the Nejjarine square; metal workers hammering at copper plates in the Seffarine; dazzling displays of olives, spices and citrus alongside baskets of live snails and the occasional camel's head in the R'cif food market.

Before Morocco won its independence in 1956, Fes was a divided city. Arabs mostly lived in the old medina, Fes el Bali, and its 13th-century offshoot Fes Jdid, which also enclosed the Jewish quarter or mellah. Europeans inhabited the broad avenues of the Ville Nouvelle, built outside the city walls after France took control of the country in 1912. As the French departed, rich and middle-class Moroccans abandoned the medina to move into their spacious apartments and plush colonial villas.

Many of the dars and riads—elegant traditional homes built around patios, fountains and gardens—were divided up among poor families. They could enjoy carved cedar-wood ceilings and walls adorned with intricate mosaics of zellige tiles even though they were squeezed into single, sometimes squalid, rooms. Many such families now aspire to sell their homes to outsiders.

"They dream of selling this place so they can move into modern apartments in the new suburbs," explains Hafid El Amrani, whose restoration company is working on an early 19th-century dar currently inhabited by seven families. "Ideally, they'll find somebody who will buy the whole place for €220,000, perhaps to turn it into a guest house."

The work is being financed by a government fund that is helping poor local families restore historic homes in the medina. Mr. Amster says over 500 of the 9,000 courtyard houses (they are called a riad when the central patio includes a garden, a dar if not) have been restored and taken over by outsiders—either foreigners or Moroccans from outside the medina—to be used as vacation homes, boutique hotels or full-time residences.

Mr. Amster's own website offers advice on how to buy and restore a house, from the bureaucratic requirements for bringing funds into Morocco to tips on negotiating a good price with local craftsmen (www.houseinfez.com).

"When I first came to Fes, there were no other foreigners living in the medina," says Mr. Amster, who has since restored three traditional homes. "I came here to teach, but it was very difficult to find a place to rent in the medina, so I bought a massriya (an independent apartment within a traditional house). It needed some work and lots of patience, but you could see from the beginning that it was stunning."

The upsurge of interest in traditional homes has been a boon for the carpenters, painters, tile makers and other craftsmen of the medina whose skills were in danger of dying out. Although the recession has taken some of the fizz out of the Fes real estate market, locals complain that prices are still up to three times what they were before boom. Bargain hunters can still pick up a small dar ripe for renovation for less than €30,000 or a riad with guest-house potential for €150,000.

Many adopted Fassi look with concern at Marrakech, claiming that the much greater influx of foreign residents and tourists there has changed the nature of the southern city.

"Fes is not a pleasure ground like Marrakech, which is getting hen parties and stag parties. I just don't think Fes is ever going to have that sort of thing going on," says Mr. Richardson, the café owner. "The people coming here are looking for a more intellectual pursuit; they want it to be authentic. Anyway, the medina is big enough to swallow us all."

The View from Fez asked local agent Fred Sola, of Fez Real Estate, what the market is like today.

"We don't see English people any more," reports Fred. "It's mostly the French who are interested. We have regular requests and are involved in a few transactions. So after a couple of years of no action, things are moving a bit."

"Because local owners are not in debt with their houses," continues Fred, "they're happy to wait until the price is right, so prices are stable. But we don't have the lower entry prices that we saw a few years ago. There's nothing under Dh300 000 (around 27 272 Euros) and you don't get much for that. I don't see that prices will go higher in the near future."

Downturn in Moroccan real estate

The real estate property market continues to cause concern among Moroccan developers, “notaires” and bankers. Everyone has his or her own explanation, and the word slump is definitely back in circulation. Recently Leconomiste had this to say:

The golden age of real estate is apparently over. In any case, sales have been going south for several months. The euphoria and buying frenzy that usually happens during the summer, which coincides with the arrival of the Moroccans Living Abroad, did not take place this summer. Buyers prefer to postpone their purchases. "Few transactions have taken place because customers are reluctant to engage," reports the Moroccan Federation of real Estate developers (FNPI).

This situation is caused by the wide perception of pending lower prices. Suddenly, everyone would rather wait in the hope of better deals. And the arrival of Ramadan has exacerbated the lethargy. Therefore, several real estate projects have been stalled for several weeks and the pace of housing deliveries has fallen globally by 50%. By itself, Marrakech has some fifty-mothballed projects.

For now, insiders are hoping for a market rebound in October 09. Tthe situation varies from one segment to another and from one city to another. But one thing is sure, the luxury real estate market is the segment most affected nationally as reported by the promoters federation., "The luxury real estate segment has seen a significant slowdown across the country. To date, Marrakech is undoubtedly the city most affected” FNPI reports. For other cities, prices have generally been revised downwards.

This is particularly true in Marrakech, Tangier, Tetouan, Kenitra ... "These towns have important reductions given the volumes of stocks and finished apartments waiting to find a buyer," says a promoter. But the Federation of developers prefers to speak of a "correction". "The market was inflated somewhat in recent years and prices had reached record levels with inadequate purchasing power," said the secretary general of the FNPI. He added, "it is rather a return to normal that would benefits the developers who adjust their prices by taking into account the new circumstances."

This is probably the reason for the sudden abundance of rebates and discounts on homes or villas in many cities of Morocco.

Real estate in Fez - a sign of the times?

Is this sign - a sign of the times in Fez?

With a slight real estate slump in Fez affecting many property companies, the trend seems to be towards the smaller dars and riads. Hopefully there will be an upturn in the market again soon, but, in the meantime, it is good to see enterprising people in the 24/7 superette riad business! So if you want a mini riad....


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Landmark cinema for sale

Tell any taxi driver in Fez's Ville Nouvelle the magic words "Cinema Amal" and he will recognise them immediately and have you speeding towards your destination in the medina.

Located at R'Cif, the cinema has been a Fez landmark for decades. It's where the caroussa drivers hang out, and generations of teenagers have gone to meet their friends and revel in Bollywood and Hollywood action flicks. Now, it seems, many of its patrons prefer to watch DVDs, and with patronage declining the owners have decided to sell. It follows the closure about four years ago of the medina's only other cinema near Bab Bou Jeloud.

But history doesn't come cheap. Cinema Amal is on the market for 7 500 000 (about 650 000 euros or US $880 000). However, according to the agent Fez Real Estate (www.fez-realestate.com) there is authorization to construct a hotel of 4 suites and 22 rooms, plus a caretakers apartment.


Or perhaps, as has happened with some old cinemas in Western cities, a wealthy film lover will buy it and convert it to showing more local fare, mixed with the best of what other cultures can offer?



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Fez, Morocco Real Estate: An Ancient City Gets Attention

The online journal Nuwire investor has just written an interesting piece on Fez. The writer is Yemisrach Kifle. Photographs, Suzanna Clarke.

Many people have never heard of Fez, Morocco's fourth largest city after Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh. The medieval town attracts discerning travellers who come looking for a cultural experience found nowhere else. Most tourists revel in what they find and leave with memories of a lifetime. Some continue to be drawn to it, returning over and over, hopelessly charmed by this provocative city. Others simply stay.

"We fell in love with Fez. Walking through the narrow streets of the Medina, where there are no cars but instead donkeys and foot traffic, we felt as though we had been plunged back to the fourteenth century," said Suzanna Clarke, whose book A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco details her experience of buying and restoring a 300-year-old home in the ancient medina.

The restored courtyard of the house renovated by Clarke
Restoring old properties is more than an investment for some

Fez is located in the northern part of the country. According to 2004 census, Fez's population is about a million. The city is divided in three distinct parts. Fez el Bali is the oldest section that was founded in 789. Fez Jdid is newer and is where Morocco's, once thriving, Jewish quarter is located. Ville Nouvelle was added at the beginning of the 19th century, during the French colonial days, and is now a bustling, modern commercial center. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is home to Al-Karaouine University, which was founded in 859 and holds the title of the oldest higher institution in the world according to the Guinness World Book of Records.

The population of Fez el Bali, the largest and the oldest of the three Fez sections, hovers at around 300,000 and about 30,000 of those are artisans, according to Clarke. "Everywhere people are making things in tiny workshops—from leather and ironwork to embroidery and ceramics," she said. There are no cars. People use their own two feet or donkeys for transportation. "The city [of Fez] is designed on Islamic principles of social harmony, and each section of the city has its own school, hammam (bath-house), mosque, fountain and bakery."

Fez's 11th century sewer and water system still works and works well, according to Suzanna. The installation of electricity and Internet has left behind unsightly wires snaking over the city’s old walls but has brought much needed modern conveniences. Even so, they fail from time to time, as people cut and take the cables for the valuable copper inside.

Real Estate in Fez, Morocco

Real estate sales activity has declined in Fez in the last year, but prices remain stable

Over the past few years interest in Fez from international investors has increased, according to The Telegraph (U.K.). People who are tired of the high prices in Marrakesh are paying closer attention to the old Moroccan capital. There are many dilapidated palaces, dars (houses built around courtyards) and riads (houses with gardens) available for sale. Many will require extensive restoration to bring them back to their old glories.

"We decided to buy a riad in Fez to immerse ourselves in the culture in a much deeper way than is possible on a holiday and we felt we could make a contribution by preserving a historic house that might otherwise become derelict," said Suzanna Clarke.

Buying and restoring an old property in Fez may sound romantic, but it is not for the faint-hearted. It should not be taken on as short term project, it is not something that can be done from afar, and it requires an unyielding commitment and a sense of humor to retain ones sanity. After all, everyone knows old houses come with problems and it only makes sense that when a home is centuries old, numerous issues have to be resolved during renovation.

"Our house was more than 300 years old, and had last been restored in the late nineteenth century. There were some serious structural problems, such as crumbling walls and rotting beams—many of which we only uncovered after taking the plaster off," said Clarke. Collapsing homes are a big problem in the city because many houses never get the attention they need to remain standing.

Restoration can mean different things to different people. Some owners are not satisfied until they return every aspect of their Fez home back to its original state. Others can be callous, disregarding the historical nature of their new abode; however, because of Fez's World Heritage Status, there are limits to how much liberty owners can take in their renovations. "In restoring a house, I believe there needs to be respect for the historical aspects, balanced by the way it needs to function in order for people to continue to live in it. You can’t live in a museum, but neither should you impose your own fantasy on the nature of the house," said Suzanna. She and her husband decided to put in a modern kitchen and bathroom but in a style that fit the original fashion of their home.

For Suzanna and her husband, restoration meant a lot of research into construction techniques used in the area during Fez's heyday. "We were also very aware of using techniques that were associated with the local region, rather than elsewhere in Morocco," she said. "[We] sought out craftsmen and women who had the necessary level of skill to restore damaged walls, woodwork, plaster and tile work."

Putting together a team of people who understand the restoration needs and know what they are doing can be a major challenge. Sometimes, one must be willing to let things happen in their own time. "Our major problem in this department was with a recalcitrant plumber, who was constantly telling us he couldn’t show up to work as one of his relatives had died. By the end of the process, we estimated he had lost about six or seven family members. Really, he was a most unfortunate fellow," said Clarke.

Making friends with locals whenever possible is also important, and not just becuse they might be your neighbours. Their influence and knowledge can be crucial in emergencies.

"We had to bring all our materials in by donkey or porter, and we occasionally ran into problems such as one day the donkey team was 'kidnapped' by an over-zealous local official, who said we needed to pay a fine. It was the equivalent of having your car towed. Fortunately our building merchant was well connected and managed to get the caid, or mayor, to order him to release them," said Clarke.

Getting used to winning some and losing some against the complicated bureaucracy in Fez can cut down the level of frustration international owners face. For Suzanna and her husband it meant going without an electric oven and a washing machine because they were unable to install an electric supply. "To do so would have required us paying a huge amount of money to become authorized as a business, which we weren't," she explained. The officials couldn't be convinced that Clarke wasn't running a business given her desire for these appliances.

Buying real estate in Fez, Morocco

The Fez real estate market has been much slower than last year, according to Jonathan Green of Fez Restoration, a company that provides purchasing assistance, restoration help and property management services in the old medina. However, prices have remained stable instead of declining like they did in other parts of the world, according to Frederic Sola, owner of Fez Real Estate, a company specializing in Fez properties.

Buyers can expect to spend about $40,000 on unrestored small houses and upwards of $100,000 for nice three to four bedroom homes. Bigger properties that can be used for businesses such as guest houses can go for upwards of $200,000. "[For] restored [property] expect to pay 250 percent of an unrestored [property]," said Green. Most homes fall between $700 to $1000 per a square meter depending location and the current state of the property, according to Fez Real Estate.

There are no restrictions on foreigners buying real estate. "In fact, foreign investment is encouraged. However, it is important to follow the rules about bringing your money into Morocco and registering the purchase with the local authorities, or you may have problems getting your money out again," said Clarke, who also blogs about her experiences at The View from Fez.

It may surprise buyers that most homes in Fez-el-Bali are not sold with a title. Apparently officials in the ancient Medina still use an old system that has assigned scrolls to each property. On the scroll are the names of all past owners.

"The name of the new owners is recorded by an adoul, or scribe. Our scroll is about two meters long and contains hundreds of names," said Clarke. "Houses are often sold when the previous generation dies, and the proceeds are to be split between several off-springs. This can be a long and frustrating process, unless everyone is in agreement," she said. She would know. The deal for the first house Suzanna and her husband wanted to buy fell apart because they couldn't locate all 12 siblings to sign documents.

Looking ahead

"We are optimistic about the future of the real estate [market] in Fez; the city is becoming a destination for internal and external tourism, lots of governmental plans are being made to enhance tourist activities and to smooth the way for the foreign investments," said Sola who also owns Riad Laaroussa, a guest house located in the old medina. Fez may not be as popular as Marrakesh but it sure seems to have caught the attention of international buyers. Whether or not there will be a market for restored homes in this ancient medina remains to be seen.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Dar Ba Mohamed Chergui

Recently our heritage editor, Helen Ranger, reported on the sale of Dar Ba Mohamed Chergui, situated on Derb el Horra in the Fez Medina.

One of the central courtyards

According to Helen Ranger, "the complex, along with the massive palace opposite, Dar Ouezzane, has been sold to a consortium of businessmen from Saudi Arabia, Germany and Switzerland for an undisclosed sum (thought to be in region of several million Euros). Dar Ouezzane alone had at least 20-25 inheritors, so it must have been some deal."

The idea is to restore the buildings and convert them into a 28-room hotel which will include a passerelle or bridge over Derb el Horra to connect between the two.

Just to give those who have never visited Dar ba Mohamed Chergui an idea of what is at stake, we sent our intrepid photographer Zany along to take some photographs:

The unique garden featuring star-shaped zellij planters

Interior and detail (below)

Photographs: Suzanna Clarke.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Going, going, gone!

Entrance to Dar Mohamed Ba Chergui

Many's the time Lumen has taken visiting friends to look around Dar Ba Mohamed Chergui, situated on Derb el Horra in the Fez medina.

For a few dirhams, the family living there could be persuaded to show you round. This time, though, she was prevented from entering by two new guards, and couldn't get past the imposing entrance, big enough to ride into and tie up your horse. The palace comprises two majestic houses, the men's quarters and the harem. One has an imposing courtyard with central fountain and huge wall fountain surrounded by magnificently painted cedarwood doors; the other a unique garden featuring star-shaped zellij planters, painted ceilings and an interesting hammam in the old house.

The View from Fez understands from local sources that the complex, along with the massive palace opposite, Dar Ouezzane, has been sold to a consortium of businessmen from Saudi Arabia, Germany and Switzerland for an undisclosed sum (thought to be in region of several million Euros). Dar Ouezzane alone had at least 20-25 inheritors, so it must have been some deal.

The idea is to restore the buildings and convert them into a 28-room hotel which will include a bridge, or passerelle, between the two, over Derb el Horra.

Derb el Horra, with Dar Ba Mohamed Chergui on the left, and Dar Ouezzane on the right

This is good news for Fez, and particularly for residents of the area who will benefit from increased security and property values. It's also good news for two splendid houses that had fallen into a serious state of disrepair. Other than selling them as potential hotels, there's really no other way that they could have been saved. Let's hope that the renovation will be sensitively done.

What Lumen would like to know is what has happened to the black-and-white photograph of the last Pasha to live in the house, that hung in one of the ground floor salons. She hopes it's survived and will have pride of place in the new hotel.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Fez hangs its hopes on Atlas Blue

The Atlas Blue direct flights to Fez are set to reignite the property market. In the last week or so visitors from Britain and also Germany have been scouring the Medina for bargains. The sleeping tiger in the equation is America. Despite the credit crunch there are still a large number of Americans interested in Fez. The percentage of Americans visiting sites such as The View from Fez, has almost doubled in the last six months - a trend that looks set to continue for a while. Meanwhile with a look back at the gloomy past the Daily Telegraph reports on the impact of Ryanair's decision to quit Fez:

Frederic Sola has seen first-hand what happens when direct flights to an emerging property destination are halted. Since Ryanair stopped its route to the Moroccan city of Fez at the end of last year, Sola, who runs Fez Real Estate, has seen sales drop by more than 80 per cent.

"Last year we sold 37 riads, 27 of them to British people who wanted somewhere they could travel to directly and cheaply," says Sola. "This year we have sold six. Buyers now have to fly to Casablanca, a three-hour drive away, or via another airport such as Paris or Frankfurt." Fez may win a reprieve as Atlas Blue, Royal Air Maroc's low-cost branch, has said it will resurrect the route from December.

David and Sally Arnold, from Warwick, who paid £25,000 for an unrenovated house in the medina last year, certainly hope so. "Our next trip to Fez will take 12 hours and the return will need an overnight in Madrid," says David, 72. "The reasonably priced three-hour flight was a bonus. Now, travel to Fez is increasingly inconvenient, significantly more expensive - and it has undoubtedly diminished the interest of the UK market." Fez is a classic case of buyers piling in to a new second-home destination boosted largely by low-cost flights - then being left in the lurch when the airline changes its mind.

Fred Sola http://www.fez-realestate.com/

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Is Morocco immune to the property crunch?

According to Property Wire, North Africa's fast growing property sector could be the next to be affected by the credit crunch and turmoil on Wall Street. Their front page headline warned: 

Booming property market in Morocco waits for Wall Street effect

North Africa's fast growing property sector could be the next to be affected by the credit crunch and turmoil on Wall Street.

As more US banks seek mergers to avoid the crash that brought Lehman Brothers down earlier this week, the effect on finance markets is spreading across the world. In Morocco, which has been largely immune to the global credit crunch, property stocks are tumbling.

Moroccan real estate shares fell as much as 6% on Wednesday amid concern that the credit crisis could dampen foreign interest in the North African country's fast-growing property sector.

Analysts said the Moroccan stock market had been stagnating for several months as investors felt share prices had outpaced earnings expectations, especially for property stocks. Shares in real estate firm Addoha ADH.CS were suspended after tumbling 6% to 162.05 dirhams. The stock has lost 45% of its value this year.

Other key companies including Cie. Generale Immobiliere CGI.CS, a property unit of state investment vehicle CDG, and Alliances Development Immobilier ADI.CS, also all suffered falls of around 6%.

'Analysts have said the market is overvalued and a correction would be healthy,' said a Casablanca analyst who asked not to be named.

He said that property stocks were seen as among the most overvalued, and are also a source of particular concern given the global credit crisis.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news