Morocco’s Real Estate Sector Faces Multiple Challenges Amid Slow Recovery

Spectacular rise in the prices of construction materials, delay in the adoption of the implementing decree of the 2023 Finance Act regarding the direct aid schemes for new buyers, erosion of purchasing power, taxation and taxes, increases in the key rate decided by Bank Al-Maghrib... In Morocco, the real estate sector is struggling to get back on track. The year 2023 is starting under bad auspices.

The delay in the adoption of the implementing decree for the direct aid schemes for new buyers announced in the 2023 Finance Act "is a major problem that we are currently facing," notes the vice-president of the National Federation of Real Estate Developers (FNPI), Anice Benjelloun, in an interview with the newspaper Le Matin. "The ministry had promised that this decree would be in place before the end of the year, then it was postponed to the end of January, and today we see nothing coming," he laments. According to him, this delay means that the small number of potential clients who wanted to acquire housing are waiting to get a more precise idea of what will be put in place.

Taxation and taxes are the other difficulty facing industry professionals. "You have to know that just for taxation, in addition to the usual taxes (VAT, IS...), the sector is burdened with other charges such as registration and land conservation fees which are very heavy and can amount to up to 12% of the purchase price," explains the official.

"Unlike all other sectors, when we buy land, which is our raw material, we have to pay registration and land conservation fees," he adds, also noting that two new fees and taxes have been introduced this year. These are the municipal fees for obtaining an occupancy permit and a tax on the debris generated by construction sites.