Valuing a duplex or penthouse in Morocco: terrace, areas and scarce comparables

1. Duplex, penthouse, triplex: what are we talking about?

A duplex spans two levels linked by an internal staircase. A penthouseis an apartment on the top level, often set back, with large terraces. Many penthouses are also duplexes. In Moroccan practice the words sometimes sell as much as they describe: a "penthouse" may be a simple top floor. The valuer does not rely on the word in the listing; he reads the plans, the title and what is actually built.

2. Areas: not everything counts the same way

This is the first source of error. A duplex or penthouse adds up areas of different natures:

• Enclosed living rooms, indoors: the reference area.
• The mezzanine or partial levels. Depending on ceiling height, access and daylight, it can be a real room or simply usable space. A low, unlit mezzanine does not count as a bedroom.
• Circulation specific to the property: internal stairs, landings, passages. They take up room without offering equivalent use.
• The terrace, which can be very large. It has value, but not at the price of indoor area: it is exposed to weather, usable by season, and its status changes its weight.
• Sloping or low-headroom areas, often lost to use.

The valuer weights each category rather than adding them up. He explains the weighting in the report so the reader can challenge it line by line. Our article on which surface area counts in an apartment's price details this logic.

3. The terrace's status: the question that decides the value

Two terraces that look identical can have very different statuses. They must be told apart:

• Private terrace, recorded on the title. It is part of the unit. It can be sold, bequeathed and charged with it. This is the clearest and best-valued situation.
• Terrace as a common part with private enjoyment. The roof remains a common part of the building, but one co-owner has exclusive use of it, under the co-ownership rules or by decision of the general meeting. The enjoyment has value, but it is not worth ownership: its duration, limits and attached charges matter. See our article on the special enjoyment right in a condominium.
• Terrace used de facto, with nothing in writing. The top-floor owner has always used it, but no document provides for it. That use binds no one: the other co-owners may challenge it. The valuer does not value it as a right.
• Shared roof terrace open to all: it cannot be counted in the area of the unit.

For each case the valuer examines the land title or ownership certificate, the co-ownership rules, the plans and, where needed, general-meeting decisions. He notes what is written, what is missing, and draws the consequence for value.

4. Compliance: is what is built what is authorised?

Duplexes and penthouses are often affected by alterations: a terrace closed in to make a room, a mezzanine added, two units joined, a level built on the roof. These changes can raise questions with regard to the building authorisation and the co-ownership rules.

The valuer compares what he sees with the plans and permit available. Where a gap appears he flags it and measures its effect on value: an unauthorised area is not valued like a compliant one, and the risk to the buyer must appear in the report. He does not carry out a technical diagnostic of the construction. He notes apparent, documentary compliance and goes no further.

5. A narrow market: few sales, few comparables

This is the difficulty specific to this type of property. There are many three-room apartments in Casablanca, very few penthouses of the same size in the same neighbourhood. Sales are rare, properties differ greatly, and listings are often ambitious.

• First, the same building or residence, when other duplexes or top floors have sold. It is the best anchor.
• Then like properties in the same area, even when the sample is small. The valuer says so: five sales are worth more than twenty listings.
• Then a breakdown. When no comparable duplex exists, he may value the apartment part separately (against apartments) and the features specific to the property (terrace, height, view), justifying each adjustment.
• Finally a cautious reading of listings, which are asking prices. Penthouses are often advertised very high: the asking price is not the price paid.

The result is a single, argued value. The report states the size and limits of the sample, rather than hiding the scarcity of comparables behind a coefficient. Our article on how comparables are calibrated presents the general method.

6. Value factors specific to duplexes and penthouses

• View and openness, often greater than on standard floors, provided they are lasting.
• Privacy, with the internal staircase separating day and night areas.
• The lift to the top level or not: direct access, private landing or an extra flight of stairs.
• The roof and waterproofing, which concern the top level first: apparent condition and reported history matter.
• Co-ownership charges, sometimes higher for a large unit.
• The pool of potential buyers, narrower: time to sell is often longer.

7. Frequent mistakes

• Adding terrace and indoor area at the same price.
• Valuing a terrace without checking its status.
• Comparing a penthouse with standard apartments without an explained adjustment.
• Not checking the compliance of the mezzanine or of a terrace closed in.
• Taking the advertised price as the market price.

8. An illustrative example

Take a penthouse whose listing highlights a large area "terrace included". The valuer breaks it down: how many square metres of enclosed rooms, what mezzanine and at what height, what terrace and with what status. If the terrace is a common part with private enjoyment and the mezzanine does not appear on the authorised plan, the advertised "area" no longer means the same. The listing figure becomes a weighted, justified area that can be compared with actual sales.

The example is illustrative: it contains no price, because neither the weighting nor the gap can be deduced from a general rule.

9. Having a duplex or penthouse valued

For a sale, a purchase or a split, a report must show the weighted areas, the terrace's status, apparent compliance and the comparables retained. It is documented and verifiable line by line. See our apartment valuation page. Reports from 3,500 MAD excl. tax, quote within 24 h, delivery in 5 to 8 working days (48-72 h express).

FAQ

Note:This article is methodological. The status of a terrace and the compliance of a property are checked against the property's documents. Our valuation is an independent, non-judicial valuation that binds no one.