Moroccan property takes a tumble

The terrorist bombing of a Marrakech cafe in April, which left 16 people dead, dealt another blow to Morocco's struggling holiday-home industry.

Five years ago, the North African country was seen as a rival to Spain and Italy, a less-expensive alternative, luring pensioners and buyers of holiday homes. Middle East developers such as Emaar Properties, Sorouh Real Estate, Barwa and Qatari Diar announced large, multibillion-dollar developments.

But the global financial crisis, political turmoil in the region and the cafe bombing have brought activity in the market to a halt.

"The second-home market collapsed totally," says David Le Bail, the director of consulting for the international property consultancy DTZ. "There were simply no transactions."

Source: AlBawaba.com