In 2022, the real estate sector recorded a drop in the number of sales of around 4.8%, in a context marked by the expectation of the support that the State intends to grant to families for the acquisition of the main dwelling instead of introduced tax exemptions for property developers.
According to data published by Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) and the National Agency for Land Conservation, Cadastre and Cartography (ANCFCC), residential real estate transactions fell by 5.5%, urban land by 1. 3% and real estate for professional use 6.1%.
At the level of prices, in particular of real estate assets, they stabilized on an annual basis, recording a slight drop of around 0.3%, after the prices of urban land increased by 1.2%, and by 0.5% for commercial real estate, while residential real estate fell by 0.1%.
Thus, these figures indicate the wait-and-see attitude that has characterized the real estate sector in Morocco since the Covid-19 pandemic period, which recorded an increase in particular during the past year, when the government announced the decision on financial support. directly to families for the acquisition of housing instead of granting tax incentives to property developers. However, to date, no action has been taken in this regard.
According to official data, the tax exemptions allocated by the government in 2021, which are called tax charges, to the real estate sector amounted to 6.5 billion dirhams. It is a mechanism put in place by the State to reduce the tax burden of certain categories or economic activities, and which takes various forms ranging from the reduction of tax rates to total exemption.
Two months have therefore passed since the advent of the year 2023, and the government has still not communicated the amount of aid or the process for granting it. This means that months-long negotiations with property developers have yielded no results so far, especially as developers have reservations about the government’s approach of announcing residential products at 30 and 60 million cents, with specific standards.
For its part, the National Federation of Real Estate Developers expressed its reservations about the government’s announcement, stressing the need to agree on a price for housing products with a clear specification that takes into account the cost, the profit margin but also changes in the sector, especially the high prices of building materials.
In October 2022, the government revealed the approval of direct state support for families wishing to acquire a main residence, under three well-defined conditions. The first condition is that the buyer must be of Moroccan nationality, and cannot, of course, already own a home.
The second condition stipulates that the sales agreement and the final contract must be concluded with a notary. And finally, in the final contract, the purchaser undertakes to make this accommodation, for four years and from the date of the signing of the notarial deed, his main habitat. In addition, the purchaser must also consent to the benefit of the State an official first or second degree mortgage as a guarantee of restitution of the aid granted, in the event of non-respect of his commitment.
In addition to providing direct financial support, the value of which has not yet been disclosed, the government has indicated that it will determine the interest rate that homeowners who borrow from banks will pay, since the state will bear some of this. a part. A point that still needs to be discussed with the banking sector.