Pricing the plots or units of a property development in Morocco

For a subdivision, the grid starts from the approved specifications (the cahier des charges) and the layout plan. That document sets the use, area and building rights of each plot. It is the reference for marketing; the development plan comes in support. The legal framework for selling plots is covered in our analysis of Law 34-21 on subdivisions.

Plots are grouped into families: villas, apartment buildings, retail. Each family receives a base price per square metre, drawn from recorded sales, listings and the competition survey. Plots that are not for sale (transferred public facilities, technical structures, roads) are taken out of revenue at this stage.

The base price is then adjusted for each plot according to what sets it apart from its neighbours:

• corner position or double frontage;
• width of the road it faces;
• view or proximity to green space;
• proximity to a public facility;
• shape and size of the plot;
• nuisance: transformer, noisy road;
• position within the phase.

The formula fits on one line: plot price = base price × product of coefficients × area.

Illustrative example, teaching figures only. Base of MAD 5,000 per sqm, corner plot (coefficient 1.08) on a wide road (1.04), area of 200 sqm: 5,000 × 1.08 × 1.04 × 200 = MAD 1,123,200. These values are there to show the calculation. Actual coefficients are calibrated on the project's market and justified one by one in the method note. The guide to pricing subdivision plots goes through each criterion.

Each plot carries two prices. The list price is the one used in sales material: the top of what the data can support. The negotiation floor corresponds to the expected market value. The gap between the two is the negotiation margin, accepted and known to the sales team. Without a written floor, every discount is decided case by case and the grid loses its consistency.

The logic is the same; the criteria differ. The first step is to state which reference area is used: titled area, living area, or an area weighted for terraces and gardens. A price per square metre only means something when set against the same area as the comparables.

The grid then covers floor level (with or without a lift), orientation and sunlight, view, position (corner, street side, courtyard side), unit type, terrace, private garden, top floor. Parking and storage are priced separately. Prices are set by phase: launch, during construction, completion. See the guide to pricing apartments in a new development.

The sum of the grid is the revenue of the scheme. It must reconcile with the assumption in the developer appraisal. If it does not, either the grid or the appraisal is corrected, knowing which of the two was wrong.

For apartment-building and retail plots, a second check applies: the buyer's own residual calculation. The plot price has to remain compatible with the appraisal of the developer who will buy it, that is, with the revenue of the building that can be built, less costs and margin. The developer feasibility calculator lets you rerun that test.

• Order of release by phase, so the best plots are not exhausted first.
• Price review rule tied to the observed pace, written in advance.
• Unit-by-unit tracking: available, reserved, sold, with cumulative revenue.

1. Documents to provide.

• the subdivision layout, or the sales plans of the scheme;
• the approved specifications;
• the schedule of plots or apartments, with areas;
• the progress of works and, where relevant, sales already concluded.

2. Site visit. We visit the site, then the competing subdivisions and schemes in the area: list prices, specification, progress, visible stock.

3. Analysis. Base price, calibration of coefficients, construction of the grid, check against the appraisal.

4. Presentation. The grid is presented and discussed with you. Coefficients are reasoned choices; you can challenge one, and the grid recalculates.

• The price grid, plot by plot or apartment by apartment, in a workbook where every coefficient is visible and editable.
• The plan colour-coded by price level.
• The method note: sources, base price, justification of coefficients, review rule.
• The sales tracking sheet.

Fees are quoted case by case, according to the number of units and the scope: market study already available or to be carried out, number of product families, extent of the competition survey.

• A grid does not create demand. It distributes an average price that the market has to accept.
• Coefficients are not universal. A corner premium observed in one area does not carry over unchanged to another.
• The grid ages. It is right at its date; the review rule keeps it current as sales reveal the market.
• It guarantees neither the sales nor their timing. It gives the sales team a consistent rule and a floor.