In the second quarter of this year, the real estate sector in Morocco has displayed signs of a slowdown, marked by a significant decline in property transactions.
Figures released by Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) and the National Agency for Land Conservation, Cadastre, and Cartography (ANCFCC) indicate a 12% decrease in real estate transactions.
This decline is distributed across residential properties (-10.3%), lands (-15.7%), and commercial properties (-16.9%).
The Real Estate Asset Price Index (IPAI) has also experienced a slight contraction of 0.3%. Residential property prices have decreased by 0.5%, prices of commercial properties have dropped by 0.4%, while land prices have shown a modest appreciation of 0.3%.
When compared annually, the IPAI reveals a near-stagnation, with land and commercial property prices showing progress, but a decline in residential prices. Residences have seen a 0.5% decrease in prices, with villas experiencing a significant drop (-5.7%) and houses showing a slight increase (+0.7%).
Transactions have receded by 4.7%. As for lands, there has been a price increase of 0.9%, but the number of transactions has plummeted by 6.9%. In the case of commercial properties, a noteworthy increase of 2.1% has been observed, primarily driven by a surge in demand for commercial spaces.
The real estate dynamics vary across different cities. In Marrakech, prices have marginally increased by 0.7%, while in Casablanca, they remain stagnant.
On the other hand, Rabat has witnessed the most significant decrease, experiencing a decline of 3.7%.
In Tanger, the price index has decreased by 0.7%. These fluctuations in prices are accompanied by shifts in transaction volumes. For instance, Casablanca has seen a significant decline of 13.1% in property sales.