If you are an International property investor looking for the latest hotspot, you should take a look at Morocco real estate.

There is no tax on rental income for the first five years of holding an investment moroccan property and there is a reciprocal tax agreement between the UK and Morocco so even when tax does become payable on the property in Morocco, it can be offset against your UK liability.

And there are other tax breaks too. There is no inheritance tax if you are leaving your property to a family member, and once you have owned the property for over 10 years there is no capital gains tax either.

Access is good too. ‘Recent airline deregulation has led to over 100 direct flights every week between London and Marrakech. This was imperative in order for the economy and the moroccan property market to move forward,’ said Tim Swannie of Home Hunts.

Morocco offers a huge range of properties from studio apartments for less than 100,000 Euros to multi-million Euro riadhs and palaces.

International property purchases by international investors accounted for more than 15% of foreign investment in Morocco in 2006. The hub of this activity was Marrakech, where half of all property purchases are now made by international property investors. The French are overwhelmingly the largest group of foreign buyers, investing in nearly ten times more moroccan property and luxury property in morocco than the Brits or Americans.

Reasons for the popularity of morocco real estate as an international property investment among property buyers include:

a) It’s affordable – The average cost per square metre for a moroccan property (€750–€1,500) is roughly half of that for Spain (€2,000) or France (€2,400).

b) The tax conditions are favourable – There is no inheritance tax when a property is passed on to a family member, capital gains tax ranges from 0%–20%, and new properties are exempt from most property taxes in the first five years of ownership.

c) The rental market is strong – Peak-season rental occupancy can be as high as 85%, allowing mortgages to be covered for the whole year from just summer-time rental income.

d) It’s close to Europe – Morocco’s geographical proximity to Europe and good travel connections make it an easy place to visit. Both easyJet and Ryanair have launched low-cost routes to Morocco.

e) Quality of life can be good – Morocco has a relatively low cost of living, a pleasant climate and beautiful natural environment, and expatriates can often manage with English, French or Spanish.

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