SA-Chas Everitt to open in Mauritius

JOHANNESBURG (October 24)

The Chas Everitt International property group is shortly to open an office in Port Louis, capital of the Indian-Ocean island of Mauritius, in conjunction with prominent local property sales and development group Davyland.

The joint venture has been established in response to increased demand from South Africans who want to buy holiday homes on Mauritius or relocate there permanently, says Chas Everitt Franchising CEO Barry Davies.

“We saw the need to partner with a local operator and after much deliberation chose Davyland due to the company’s solid track record and extensive experience in the Mauritian property market, as well as its similar ethic.”

Davyland GM Kentish Moorghen says: “We feel the time is right for a partnership with a South African property company as the majority of our overseas clients are South African. Additionally, Mauritius is experiencing a boom in the residential sector, with a large number of real estate projects currently under construction. This has highlighted the need for a more comprehensive framework which will better serve our clients.”

Driving the residential demand in Mauritius is a stable inflation rate and the new legislation that facilitates foreign property purchases, the IRS (Integrated Resorts Scheme) and RES (Real Estate Scheme).

The IRS caters to the more affluent buyer while the RES is geared towards the more budget-conscious purchaser and Davyland is currently catering to both markets with a number of developments, Moorghen says. Among these are the West Rock development on the west coast, where properties are being sold for around 18m rupees or about R5m.

Meanwhile, demand for commercial space on the island is also on the increase, and a number of “intelligent” office buildings have already been built to better enable expatriates to maintain their business interests while living on the island.