Lexpress Property Trends Lexpress Property Trends EN Light Version | Page 24

THE MAURITIAN MARKET AND ITS SPECIFICITIES: PROPERTIES ACCESSIBLE TO FOREIGNERS
possession of an occupation permit.
Also, the owner will have the right to
rent his property/ies, which was not
the case in the past.
Eligible apartments must be worth Rs 6
million or more, or its equivalent value
in foreign currency. Neither can they
be on a "waterfront" lease. As a result,
any non-resident with or without an
occupation permit, a residence permit
or a permanent residence permit, may
acquire one or more apartments with
the approval of the EDB.
W
• A non-citi en of Mauritius
• A permanent residence permit holder
Apartment
offers:
10 % in 201
41 % in 2018
• An occupation permit holder - investor,
professional and self-employed
• A residence permit holder for retirees around Rs 8.8 billion in 2017. leisure centres, and so forth.
• A residence permit holder under the
IRS RES PDS SCS schemes When it comes to sales, Sachin
Mohabeer, Head of Department Real
Estate
Hospitality at EDB, attests
that, as of September 2018, 8 projects
have been approved under the various
existing real estate schemes (IRS, RES
PDS) for a total sales of 2,737 units on
3, 68 that were available. 5% of the
units in these 8 projects are marketed
under the VEFA. I
• A corporation incorporated or
registered under the Companies Act
and registered with the Economic
Development Board
• A company whose training activity is
filed with the enterprise registrar and
registered with the Board of Investment
• A limited partnership under the
Companies Act and registered with the
Economic Development Board
• A trust, whereby the services
are provided by a qualified agent
and registered with the Economic
Development Board
• A foundation under the Foundation
Act registered with the Economic
Development Board
R
From a general point of view, the
opening of the local real estate market
to foreigners in 2002 was a strategic
shift that took a very positive turn for
the Mauritian economy as stated by the
Hospitality and Property Development
report of the Economic Development
Board.
According to this report, since 2010,
FDI generated by the sale of IRS, RES
PDS units has risen significantly
despite the global financial crisis of
2007-2008, accounting for 33% of FDI
over the period, for a total sum of FDI
54
LEXPRESSPROPERTY TRENDS
In line with the forecasts of the EDB, in
201 , about 1,033 units are expecting
buyers and given the pre-sales figures,
it will take an average of 2.4 years to
sell everything.
In terms of international real estate
sales, the selection criteria play a key
role in the decision-making process
of whether to invest in Mauritius or
not. The various schemes set by
the Mauritian government held the
attention of many because the country
has several attractive assets to appeal
to this clientele: a paradisiac lifestyle, a
good geographical location, and a tax-
advantageous environment, to name
only a few.
Foreigners who buy in Mauritius are
mostly looking for properties with
swimming pools, and the most popular
regions are the North and the est.
In addition, one of the criteria that
seems to make a difference is probably
the access to the surrounding facilities
and infrastructures such as the nearby
schools, medical, commercial and
Based on the statistics of the site, the
general trend observed in the sale of
real estate to foreigners is a growing
interest from the latter for apartments,
probably due to the introduction of the
2 scheme in 2016.
In 201 , 0% of the requests pertained
to private houses and 10% were
apartment requests. In 2018, the
number of private houses applications
has risen to 5 %, while the demand
for apartments has increased to
1%. A logical trend, as states Lionel
Magisson, Director of Immodir: In any
case, foreigners only had access to
private villas. For some years now, they
can purchase apartments. It is clear,
therefore, that demand follows market
supply. This observation is confirmed
by the statistics of the site: in 201 ,
67% of the offers related to villas and
33% were for apartments. In 2018,
apartments represented 6% of the
offer (5 % for villas).
Individual properties, which were most
sought-after by foreigners, remain
the 3-bedroom units, followed by
-bedrooms in 2018, in line with market
supply following the same trend.
For apartments, the 3-room units were
largely the most requested (70% in
2018) whereas the 2-room units follow
from a distance with 23%.
Whether it is for houses or apartments,
the most attractive areas are North
and West.