Morocco’s New Housing Assistance Program Sparks Mixed Reactions from Buyers and Developers

Developers are expressing many reservations about the housing assistance program, reports the magazine Finances News hebdo cited by Le360. Officials of the National Federation of Real Estate Developers (FNPI) believe that the offer is not interesting and needs to be readjusted to attract more people. Small developers, who had not benefited from the 250,000 dirhams social housing programs, hope, on the other hand, to benefit from this new program.

"Currently, in the market, there are not enough offers launched under the new program. For 2023, most developers have already received reservations. For 2024, the projects are under construction. The operation has not yet taken off, because the professionals in the sector do not want to invest in it because of a large stock that they cannot sell," explains Mohamed Dahbi, vice-president of the National Union of Small Real Estate Developers (UNPPI).

In other words, a destocking of the housing already built under the previous programs is necessary. "As long as there is no destocking of the housing already built, the new assistance program will not be able to reach its cruising speed," affirms the vice-president of the UNPPI. Moreover, "the buyers, for their part, prefer the product at 300,000 dirhams to the one at 250,000 dirhams, considered less advantageous. The market is disrupted for both buyers and developers," the publication develops.

In the previous programs, housing assistance was paid to the developer as a start-up advance for the construction site. With the new program, the direct assistance is paid to the buyers once the housing is delivered. This requires the developer to pre-finance the work, either with own funds or through bank loans. An option that does not suit small developers whose financial means are limited. To this is added the requirement, since 2023, to obtain an occupancy permit before starting the work.