The Moroccan luxury property market is attracting domestic as well as wealthy foreign investors, a new report has found.

The report from Aylesford International says that the country has witnessed significant economic growth over the last decade thanks to the strong macroeconomic policies.

Morocco is one of the few countries in the wider North African region that have rarely experienced social unrest. Tourism and home industry are the most prolific industries of the country and are the keys to its economic stability.

The report also says that there is now a considerable expat community in Morocco and the foreign residents are mainly from the European and Latin American countries.  The country’s liberal inheritance laws, moderate property transaction costs and the provision of excellent, high-end properties are the key reasons behind their attraction towards it.

However, recently, the economic performance of Morocco has witnessed deceleration due to the slow growth in European Union, particularly in Spain and France who are its main export partners.  To that end, Morocco’s Budget in 2013 has imposed taxes on buying and selling the property.

When buying a property, there is an agent commission of 2.5%, VAT of 10% Notary fee of 1% plus a Notarial tax of 0.5%. Additionally, there is also land registration fee of 3%-4%.

When selling a property there is no particular inheritance tax but gift tax like Capital Gains may be levied at a flat rate of 20%. The minimum 3% has been imposed on the transfer of property.

The Properties that are attracting foreign buyers include a 5-bedroom villa in Marrakech with two guest houses, a three hectare garden, tennis courts and pool priced at €2.9 million and a 4-6 bed villa in a private estate that includes a spa, a luxury boutique hotel and an 18-hole golf course, priced at €1.91 million.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM March 11-14, 2014 in Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in meeting space, special events, hotels, rental apartments, luxury accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.

The property prices are increasing in Dubai’s popular locations as Emirate’s residential real estate recovery continues, a latest research has found.

According to the latest data from global real estate firm Knight Frank, the rental values in Dubai rose more than anywhere else in the world in 2012, up 18.3% in the year to March.

The overall property prices in the Gulf Region increased by up to 75% and the rental prices are up 20%.

The average apartment sales prices in Dubai witnessed the rise of 12% in the second quarter of this year and are up 38% annually.

Discovery Gardens emerged as the fastest growing area in the metropolis, with prices there soaring 75% in the last year to reach 7,550 ($2,055) UAE Dirham per square meter.

In The Greens, prices rose by 44% to reach 2,400 Dirham per square meter. The most expensive area in the city – Downtown Dubai, where prices increased by 38% to 7,750 Dirham per square meter.

John Stevens, the managing director of a property consultancy firm – Asteco Property Management – said any slowdown hasn’t been recorded in the leasing or sales growth or the transaction volumes in Emirates during the second half of 2013 and the new project launches have become a weekly event.

The rental rates in the federation have witnessed increase as well, with average villa and apartment rates rising by 20% and 17% respectively over the last year.

The highest price increase was recorded in Dubai, where a lease for a 2-bedroom unit increased 27% annually to an average of 42,500 Dirham.

In the district of Dubai Marina, the average price of 2-bed apartment reached 110,000 Dirham after witnessing a rise of 20%.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM March 11-14, 2014 in Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in meeting space, special events, hotels, rental apartments, luxury accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.

Women have a stronger grip over the Australian real estate market than their male peers, country’s recent Census figures have shown.

According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, women are leaving the opposite gender behind them in home ownership. It states that more than 61% women have their own home compared with 58% of males.

Though most of the professionals in real estate market are men but the positions they occupy lags them behind the women, who have penetrated in the industry with a faster pace in the recent years.

A recent survey of 25 leading Australian real estate firm CEOs and directors stated that the females have “greatest say in the choice of property”.

Most of the industry spearheads believe that both genders look the property at different perspective and when it comes to get a home to live in, women holds an edge over men as they look at more emotional, lifestyle side of things and there’s an emotional part of it that plays a vital role.

It was observed that weather it relates to location choice, type of home or pricing decisions, women usually have the final say.

The survey found that from selling perspective, the women are generally the lone decision makers and they rarely involve the male partners in their deals.

The survey report shows women leading men in assisting in the understanding of the financial security offered by property ownership.

The report also revealed that most of the women are leaving the people-oriented careers such as nursing and teaching to join the real estate industry.

The Census figures also showed that the women assist men in paying off the mortgage, with 48% of single female household doing so compared with of 31% single male households.

And when it comes to sole home ownership, the gap further widens with 65% of single female householders owning their home, compared with 55% of single male households.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM 2014 at Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in high quality accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.

The housing prices in England and Wales increased by 0.1% in May compared with the previous month, the official Land Registry figures have shown.

After the frictional rise, the average house price in England and Wales has been propelled to £161,969.

The figures also show an annual price increase of 5% and that the repossession volumes decreased by 27% in March 2013 to 1,448 compared with 1,981 in the same month a year ago.

Over the last 12 months, the greatest increase in average property value was experienced by London, where prices rose by 5%. The East Midlands region recorded the greatest monthly rise with an increase of 2%.

The region with the most significant monthly price decrease was East England at  0.7% while Yorkshire and The Humber saw the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of 2.2%.

The number of completed housing sales in England and Wales declined by 15% to 52,090 in March 2013, compared with 61,334 a year earlier, the most up-to-date available figures showed.

Between March 2012 and March 2013, almost all the regions in England and Wales saw a decrease in repossession. North East was the region with a significant decrease of repossessions, which dropped by 39% in March this year compared with March 2012.

The managing director of Phoebus Software – Paul Hunt – said that despite a row of economic barriers which have blocked the route to a full recovery, the escalation in house prices shows that the mortgage market is performing magnificently.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM March 11-14, 2014 in Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in quality accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.