House prices

@Natasha09 Following

@Natasha09

@Natasha09 really good question - following

@Natasha09 Hi I am an estate agent with 29 years experience. Recently moved to Mauritius. The various schemes for foreign real estate acquisition are very pricy as the gov needs foreign capital. But pricy as they are, depending on where they are, they sell very successfully. The ratio is approximately 40% French, 30% South African, 20% UAE and the remaining 10% German, Russian, local. So to answer your question the market is buoyant and foreign buyers are buying at high prices. Mauritius is exceptionally more expensive than Greece, Portugal, Turkey and Cyprus to obtain a Residency permit via Real Estate purchase. We obviously have great competition from those countries so sales are not easy to conclude, but at this point, the market is carrying the high prices very well.

@rajturbo

Curious to know if the houses priced at the higher end of the scale (pds, irs, res etc) are infact being sold for these prices?

With no public data to show 'sold' prices of a property, how does a foreign buyer gauge the market value?

Estate agents will no doubt tell me the market is doing well

So I wondered if anyone has some inside info or first hand experience of the housing market, is there really a demand for these prices? And who are the buyers?

- @Natasha09

@Natasha09

Yes, demand is very high and supply is limited. I bought a 2-bed condo in Moka for 10.5 million mur.

Location matters a lot. Foreigners tend to buy more beachfront properties while Loco yokos tend to favor more central locations.

- @Chandradeep

@Natasha09  I was hearing of late that this thresh hold had now dropped to US$350,000.  Anyone else hearing this?  Thanks

holders of Residence permits will be able to acquire a residential property of a minimum of $ 350 000 if a 10% contribution is made to the Solidarity Fund.

@Bhavna ah thanks, so there is a catch

@rajturbo

@lindiejs

@Natasha09 say, I don't know exactly what price bracket ‘high end' means.  We're Americans that are going to MU this fall to look at properties and our enthusiasm has been somewhat cooled by supply chain shortages and the general economic outlook at this time.  But because we don't have the time to live in MU, we are not interested in   Residency.  Given the current circumstances prices in the $375k  seems to have baked in the residency so we're looking at the various schemes for something in the sub $300k. I don't if it's very common but during mere negotiations over the internet, one developer offered us what amounted to almost a 10%  price reduction on a  unit in a nearly sold out project.  Would it be correct to conclude that in the current economy  there is some room for negotiation in certain cases?

@clintonsturm05 hello. I have a new apartment of 3 bedrooms in a residential complex for sale, in Grand Bay. New to all facilities. The price is Rs.8,000,000.

But you should have a residential permit.

Please, let me know if you are interested.

My contact is ****

Hello Hasnah Affeejee,

I invite you to create a housing advert in the Housing in Mauritius section. You will be able to attract more buyers that way.

Cheers,

Yoginee

Expat.com team

@lindiejs The vacant lots or neglected homes usually belong to Mauritian families. Eg, my family own about three streets worth around where I live. They keep these lots for when their kids or other relatives want to build a home. The neighbours are usually relatives, so they don't worry about the yucky houses. Even if you were allowed to buy them as a non-citizen, the locals probably wouldn't sell it to you as they like to keep their little areas for relatives and friends. 

@Natasha09

Hi we are Australian and bought last year. From all life in Melbourne some of the highest house prices in the World. Three years in the USA with two houses both rented out near Disney. An apartment in Havana.  Moved to Mauritius hated USA in the end.   Anyway background in building industry regulation in Australia and real estate investor making some million dollar investment profits.  Anyway my feeling about buying here.  Advice.   1. Research. A. Builders. B. Area.  C. Facilities near by.   D. Rental possibility if you do not intend to live here E. House floor plans from that builder and your needs F. Position on house on site site and direction of shaded areas, sun trajectory and wind direction, rain and storm direction.  This is in essence one of the most important areas to ensure liveability.   E.g Grand-Baie in the North has cool breezes most of the year which you can enjoy if the site is right.  2. A. Read contracts and don't be afraid to suggest changes or ask for add~ons like shed or pool or other items as part of the deal.  B. Get good lawyer and Bank so it's easy to move forward once you decide on a home.  3. Fit out is usually part of the deal. With some unexpected items excluded or included depending on builder. A. Decide carefully and make sure you read their contracts carefully. As you can be given incorrect or have issues with differing views on what is decided upon due to cultural and language differences. Make sure you check individual cost lines for any mistakes or double dipping. B. Best to ask for person to translate better even to bring a friend or hire an independent person C. Many items take months to arrive. So factor that into your expectations.  Or consider alternatives.   Eg still waiting for a Built in Coffee machine ordered over 12 months ago.  D. Ask builder if he has a clause for delays in which you get compensation if they exceed a certain.  Paying rent here for an apartment can be expensive if you are here in high season.

4.  A. Selection of shipper and time frames can be a nightmare.   Due to Covid and world lockdowns and Chinese storing of containers cost and available shipping to destinations are now limited and costly. Do your research and make sure you get quality shipper  . Price range is vast and the cheapest might not be the best.  We waited six months from USA Florida Forty foot high cube container to arrive.

Just to add.  Prices here are just like anywhere you have to do your research to negotiate a good deal.  Most important to get a reputable builder go from there.   Get a good buyers advocate if you can they are around.  Dourvesh ours was great. Let me know if you want contact details.   

@clintonsturm05

Hello Sir,

****

Girish

@anne8639 Thank you very much for this very valuable contribution.

Many people have burnt their fingers dealing with the intricacies of French/Mauritian law. Also insist on an English contract as many pitfalls exist in the French version of contracts.

Better spend good money on legal advice beforehand rather repent for a long time.....

Attn

You can get a reasonable price

@rajturbo yes you CAN buy from a Mauritian direct under the following proviso

1. You must be over 50 and holding a retired non-citizen residence permit

2 you will have to confirm that you will not earn an income in Mauritius

3 You must buy a property in certain types of buildings...not free standing.

When you make an offer on an approved property the price must be confirmed as acceptable by the Minister before transfer can take place by a Notary

Go to internet and download the guidelines for this

We are residence permit holders as retired non-citizens and acquired our property from a Nauritian in Flic en Flac in 2015 already

@tashwilmot not if you are holding a residence permit as a retired non-citizen, then you can buy from a Mauritian under prescribed conditions

@anne8639

Thank you so much Anne, your advice sounds very good to me!

I have noted your counsel's name as I also think that a good counsel is necessary when buying in a foreign place.

I hope you enjoy your life in Mauritius, where did you settle down?

All the best for the new year!!

@Natasha09 You are so right. Try using jumia Mauritius site or aster vender site. There are some houses there that are not so expensive.

@sandleford

Hi @sandleford, we are already communicating with you outside this forum (as well as getting excellent investment advice from Yolande & Gavin Butchart and the team at Brent), but for the benefit of the other members of the Expat Forum, I would like to ask this question here:

What are the benefits of setting up a Trust or Foundation in Mauritius for the purpose of buying residential property (and what are the Pros and Cons of setting up a trust vs a foundation) ?

If you choose to go this route, can you then obtain residency as an investor “A minimum investment of USD 50,000 in a business activity.” as opposed to purchasing a property in one of the IRS/RES/PDS/SCS/G+2 schemes for a minimum of USD 375 000 ?

refer to the EDB rules here:

https://residency.mu/invest/investment-of-usd-50000/

and here:

https://residency.mu/invest/investment-of-usd-375000/

and here:

https://edbmauritius.org/info-centre

I am not a lawyer but a Trust or Foundation imp[lies that you are no longer the controlling owner of the entity.

They are not "investments", they are if anything more like corporations at least in a broad legal sense. Thus since you must not be the beneficiary of your own trust, you would not  be an "investor" but a "settlor" and  and house the trust or foundation owns is thankyou very much for someone else.

Thank you Peter, that is what I also read between the lines:

you as individual entity are the Settlor paying money into the new Trust or Foundation

then (at an annual or monthly fee) your financial advisors manage the Trust / Foundation on your behalf and act as Trustees

and eventually your children might inherit any property, shares and investments that are in the trust/foundation, making them the Beneficiaries