NORTH AFRICA:There's lots of international business action in Tunisia, where apartments in one development are for sale from €140,000, writes EMMA CULLINAN
AMONG THE MANY strange and wonderful sights to behold in Tunisia, north Africa, is that of office and apartment blocks being built. Construction is taking place across a vast tract of land at Lac, beside a lake 15 minutes’ drive to the north of Tunis city.
It’s here that British developers and Tunisian builders are constructing Azuria, one of three apartment blocks close to the ancient city of Carthage. Units are being offered to locals and to foreign investors at prices starting from €140,413.
Tunisians say that they have largely been unscathed by the global downturn, partly because of very cautious lending by banks (one of which is known as the Amen Bank). There is certainly no sign of a slump at Lac, a former industrial site, where Saudis and Tunisians have joined forces on a giant project that began around 15 years ago.
International businesses have been convinced and started moving to the area about seven years ago and now buildings are adorned with the signs of global companies such as Siemens, KPMG, L’Oreal and Porcelanosa. One attraction for them must be that a typical wage here is around €227 a month.
Such a rate of pay shows that – despite the fact that this new area has very plush five-star hotels (such as the Hotel les Berges du Lac) which have a nightly rack rate of around 400 dinars (€216) and people here dress and drive expensively – there are parts of the country where money is not so plentiful.
While you can pay 20 dinars (€10.80) a portion in the smarter restaurants, a plate of omelette, chips and salad in a quayside bar in the pretty, non-touristy town of Bizerte will cost 1.5 dinars (80 cent).
Tunisia is known as an emerging market and its way of life reflects its geographical position: it’s on the African continent, on the Mediterranean opposite Italy and France and part of the country is Sahara desert. It was a French protectorate until 1956 and French is its second language. In many ways the country feels European – and prices are often quoted in euro – but it is also Arabic (Muslims make up 98 per cent of the population).
Its geographic position also meant that many people have called by over the years, from the Phoenicians, through the Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Spanish and French. There is a rich mix of architectural and artistic styles here, as well as archaeological sites, including Carthage. Destroyed by the Romans in 146BC, its ruins still offer a map as to how life was lived when it was founded in 814BC.
Carthage is close to the Lac development where British developer Global Territories and Tunisian builder Edifia are constructing Azuria. The apartments are designed to be bought by wealthier locals as homes, and by foreign investors for rental to Tunisians and foreign employees working for international companies and to embassies moving here.
The Americans and the British have already built new embassy complexes in the area, having moved out of central Tunis, and the Canadians are due to build an embassy next to the Azuria block.
The developers have gone for a smart structure with just two apartments per floor (two and three-beds) and a four-bedroom penthouse straddling the top of the building, making 13 apartments in total in each block. There are two lifts.
The apartments have a clean, airy design. The floors are in blue/grey Italian marble and the bathrooms in black Porcelanosa tiles. Thick well-sealed glass windows and shutters are designed to keep heat in during the (usually four) colder months, although temperatures rarely drop below 16 degrees.
There are white and timber Delta kitchens, with the requisite black granite worktop, fitted with Franke, AEG and Indesit appliances. There is a generous utility area next to the kitchens.
Every bedroom has an en suite or bathroom close by and the main bedroom also has a walk-in wardrobe. Balconies are generous, especially in the penthouse. This has engaging features such as a corner bath in which to gaze across the tops of other buildings and over to the Banlieue Sud mountains on the other side of the lake.
Freehold prices rise the higher up the building you go, starting at around 260,000 dinars (€140,413) for a two-bed up to 800,000 dinars (€432,040) for a penthouse. Service charges are about 70 dinars (€38) a month and depend on property size.
Global Territories is selling off-plans in its other two blocks.
Builder Ahmed Nadhir says that they have already sold most of the Azuria block and claims that prices have risen by 85 per cent since they sold the first homes. On average, house prices in the area have risen by around 10 per cent a year for the past 10 years, says a local estate agent.
Edifia and Global Territories’ buyers have been mainly Tunisians and some French. Nadhir says one customer profile would be someone in their thirties who will rent out the home for some years before retiring in the area, where they could live well on a pension (especially if you know where to shop).
While five-star hotels in Lac cost around 400 dinar (€216) a night, in other areas, including the resorts of Hammamet and Djerba, you can get a five-star room for 50 dinars (€27) a night. In the latter resort you could also share an ice-cream parlour with Berlusconi who has a villa there. Meanwhile, Hugh Grant was recently spotted playing golf near the Lac area.
Things to do near the Lac include visits to Tunis and its medina, Carthage, the pretty Andalucian-style village of Sidi Bou Said and nearby beach resorts.
The Italians and French come to Tunisia for long weekends and now that Easyjet and Ryanair have been given permission to fly here, that could extend to other countries. But while parts of Tunisia have become package destinations, tourist authorities are putting their money on a smarter class of visitor.
Infrastructure at the Lac is to include a clinic, supermarket, smaller shops, a sports centre and even a police station opposite the Azuria apartments.
The development company – which can arrange to have the property managed – suggests a rental return of 6 to 10 per cent. There are also taxes to pay.
Nadhir says this would be a fairly long-term investment and wouldn’t really suit someone who was putting all of their savings into one apartment in the hopes of getting a quick, fat return – this is projected to be a steady earner.
As ever, when buying in a emerging market, you need to do your own research and exercise due diligence. In this case you at least need to know that you will get a tenant.
There are no restrictions on foreigners buying a property in Tunisia says a local agent (although another says there may be in certain areas) but you do need to get local government permission to buy and the bureaucracy can make the process lengthy. Your criminal (or lack off) record will be investigated and anyone who has been imprisoned or laundered money won’t be looked on favourably.
The Azuria building is nearly finished, but still on site as are the buildings around it – the overall Lac project is set to finish in 2015. It will be interesting to see where this changing country is then.
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