PORT-LOUIS, Mauritius, September 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

The Mauritian Real Estate sector has undergone a phenomenal boost over the past few years thanks to Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) and Real Estate Schemes (RES) residential projects. Since 2006, Real Estate has attracted more than Rs.35 billion in terms of Foreign Direct Investment to the economy of Mauritius. IRS and RES have attracted investment mainly from French, South-African and British home-buyers and the property sector has created a high rate of direct employment over the island.

Despite the fears of a real estate bubble felt within the Mauritian property market, the IRS-RES segment has been very popular among investors and home-buyers. Though it has experienced a slowdown in 2009-2010, its best performance was recorded in 2013 with an investment of Rs. 4,5 billion. Moreover, according to the latest figures published recently by the Bank of Mauritius, Foreign direct investment in Mauritius rose by over 67 %to Rs. 7.926 billion (USD 253 million) in the first semester of 2014. The largest part of this FDI influx went into real estate, which attracted Rs. 3.18 billion in the first six months of 2014 compared to Rs. 2.94 billion for the same period in 2013. More than 60 RES residential projects have been approved till now, among which over 20 of them have already been completed while more than 25 are still under construction. Regarding IRS, a dozen projects have been completed and are up and running.

To discover our selection of luxury beachfront IRS villas in Mauritius, click here: http://goo.gl/B9QZOl

Good to know: The Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) was set up in 2005 by the Mauritian government to allow foreigners to buy real estate in Mauritius. The minimum selling price of an IRS unit is USD 500,000 (370,000 Euros) and the buyer is automatically granted a Mauritian Residence Permit. The permit applies also to his spouse and direct dependents. On the other hand, the Real Estate Scheme (RES) has no minimum selling price but on buying a RES unit worth more than USD 500,000 (370,000) the buyer becomes eligible for his Mauritian Permits under the same abovementioned conditions.

Overview of the buyers' profile
According to statistics recently unveiled by the Board of Investment Mauritius, IRS projects have attracted investment mainly from French (38%), South-African (25%), British (19%), Mauritian (8%), Belgian (4%), Russian (3%) and Swiss (3%) home-buyers. On the other hand, homebuyers who have invested in RES projects come from the following countries: France (51%), South Africa (33%), Mauritius (6%), United Kingdom (4%), India (2%) and Belgium (2%). As a result, over time the Mauritian property segment has created a high rate of direct employment over the island.

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