Moroccan Real Estate Blog

Here is an interesting link to a blog dedicated to real estate and investment in Morocco :

http://imperialreg.wordpress.com

A very positive note to developping tourism in Morocco. You'll also find links to inflation in Morocco and the trends in house prices.
Sometimes a little too technical but always interesting ....

The Riad you've been waiting for ...

This is it. This riad is just perfect. It is right in the souks in the medina, just behind El Hedim square and the Meknes museum.
The riad is about 200 sq meters and it is almost all on the ground floor. It even has Orange trees in the patio. I told you .... Perfect !
This is not a run down ruin which will need long years of renovating. This is the ready-to-go version. You can move in tomorrow !! This riad is unique in Meknes.
The French couple who own it have done an astounding job on this house. I love this riad because it was renovated in purely traditional fashion. No cement in here. No fast, cheap alternatives. It is all clay bricks, lime and cedar wood.

The patio is very vast and has arches all around its sides. The sun comes right into the center of the property and the effect is absolutely delightful. Under the arches there is marvelous sculpted woodwork. The fountain is fabulous and all the sculpted cedar doors are authentic.
The interior design is just as amazing. Some rooms have kept a very traditional touch with beautiful woodwork and sculpted plaster whereas other areas like this living area have a much more modern touch.

I can't recommend this riad enough. If you want to get a better feel of the house you can take this virtual tour. If you wish, I can also send you some extra photos of the interior and the terrace. The couple are asking a very decent price for this riad and seeing how the market has gone a little crazy in Meknes recently, I don't think this riad will be on offer for very long. I've seen ruins that were being sold for more than this.
Feel free to contact me for price and details.

I'm not going to be very positive on this one !

I've been putting this one off for a long time. It's one of my closest neighbours. In terms of distance I mean. No, no .... no local feud. No I haven't been keeping it for myself either. Though it would be great .... I'd have about 50m of El Hédim wall all to myself.
No, I've been putting it off simply because I found the price completely ridiculous. They've been asking for 500 000 Euros for it to all those who came to see it. I told you it was ridiculous.
But today they came to see me saying they really wanted to sell and I let myself get lured into going to take a few shots. Basically it's a very tall house on three levels. Not traditional at all. All concrete structure and woodwork that might not even be fifty years old. And there is a quite "interesting?" piano like fountain sitting right in the middle of it all.
I'm not doing a very good job of selling this am I ?


Let's try and see the positive points ..... Check out this view. It's even better than mine. You're right up against the wall. Perfect location and loads of space to redecorate !
Peak out through the windows and this is what you get ..... and from the terrace it's even better of course. Come to think of it, it's one of the rare houses that has windows actually opening in the Ismailian wall.

I know .... not so many positive points and a lot of very possibly pointless negociating, but can't you just imagine what you could do with this little corner ....
Okay, so it's not a bargain but now that I've taken the shots and written the post I may as well publish ;)
In any case, if you happen to have that sort of money to spend, make sure you come and make an offer on Riad Felloussia before you sign anything.

Riad near the royal palace of Meknes

This is the type of riad that is getting quite rare in Meknes. It is almost 400 square meters on the ground. It has two large courtyards with two fountains and richly decorated pillars.
Most of the house is on two levels but some parts are on three. It has more than a dozen rooms and small adjacent rooms that could easily be converted into bathrooms. The 4 terraces are also very interesting in that they each belong to seperate parts of the riad and could each be private terraces for suites. The main terrace has the great advantage of looking into the royal palace of Meknes and also the golf course. The riad has three seperate entrances that give acces to different parts of the medina. Last but not least of the advantages of this riad : it has fully legalized papers and all the familly members are decided on selling.

Now the drawbacks ;) Well, you know how prices have been going crazy lately. ... They are asking for 300 000 Euros which seems exagerrated. Another problem is location. Eventhough it is nicely located near the palace and the mausoleum, there is the huge Ismailian wall which acts as a barrier and means that you have to walk over a kilometer to gain acces to tourist sites.
Still this is an interesting riad and the price is as always very negociable.

Small house near Bab Berdaine

Here is an interesting little house to the North of the medina near Bab Berdaine.
You enter through a tiny little door with its traditional forged metal decorations and follow a long corridor to reach the central patio. It's not a very expensive house (30 000 Euros) but has an interesting layout and two large rooms that can easily be renovated.

It's the sort of house that shouldn't be too heavily renovated. The zellige aren't in excellent condition but can still be kept to give the house that authentic look. Same thing with the walls, just some whitewash would work very well.

This one would be good for weekend getaways and could easily be rented out as a whole. It's only about a five minute walk from the parking lot on Bab Berdaine, so I would say location is pretty good.

Nice Riad with garden

Here is a nice one !

It's a very large property that has been cut into several sectors. The section being sold has its own garden and two rooms opening onto it.

Then there is a long corridor with another couple of rooms and a kitchen. The riad has already been renovated modern Moroccan style so the asking price is a bit high but it still has a lot of potential.
It even has a ready to go bathroom so you could move in immediately ;)

So why is he showing us this place, you might be thinking. Well the answer is location, location, location. This Riad happens to be right up against the imperial wall and offers an amazing view onto El hédim square and Bab Mansour. The terrace is enormous and could easily be modified to be just level with the wall.

You might think that 110 000 Euros is a bit high to ask for it but then you must take into account that it is just next door to Riad Felloussia ;)

Being Lazy ;)

I haven't been keeping my word have I. The idea was to publish houses regularly, I know, but I've just been too busy launching the guest house Riad Felloussia.
I have been receiving a few potential buyers and there are still many houses for sale. Prices are finally coming back down a little. I have no idea why there was such a surge in interest for Meknes last year but it seems to be calming down a little.
About 8 guest houses have now opened up in one year which is amazing since there were only 2 or 3 prior to that.
So basically, if you are looking for a place to set up a guest house, it may not be the ideal place anymore. What we need now in Meknes are small restaurants in riads and maybe a few theme bars like Café Clock in Fez.
I have houses to visit and I hope I'll find time to post pictures in the near future.
In any case if you need specific information or are planning on coming through Meknes, please contact me at felloussia@gmail.com