“High prices in the real estate sector signal strength, not fragility, in our economy’s Darwinian framework”

Me Ashvin Krishna Dwarka, Notary, Senior Partner at Office Notarial de l’Isle-de-France 

• “It’s a test of evolutionary resilience; those who adapt through financing innovations or policy support survive, while others risk being priced out.”
• “Beware of oversimplification: while prices may be rising in Anahita, this doesn’t mean that the same applies to Camp Ithier, situated in the same district.”
  

• “Without foreign capital, our Central Bank would end up printing money, like Zimbabwe.”

In this interview with Bizweek, Me Ashvin Krishna Dwarka analyzes the evolution of the Mauritian real estate market through a Darwinian lens. Between soaring prices (+80% since 2019), inflows of foreign capital, and the resilience of local niches, he paints the portrait of a sector that is both a driver of growth and subject to mounting affordability pressures. Attractive tax policies, the digitalization of notarial deeds, and new regulations are shaping an ecosystem where only those capable of adaptation will thrive.

Shareenah Kalla

With all indicators pointing to a boom, how can we trace the evolution of Mauritius’s real estate market from stability to its post-pandemic surge?

In late April 1836, a famous sailing ship called the HMS Beagle dropped anchor in Port-Louis for repairs and supplies over a 10-day period. One of its passengers took the opportunity to explore Mauritius and witness its visible prosperity. Some say he was the first person to climb Le Pouce mountain. From this vantage point, he noted in his diary: “One great cause of this prosperity is due to the excellent roads and means of communication throughout the island. At the present day in the neighbouring island of Bourbon under the French government, the roads are in the same miserable order as they were only a few years past.” 

That man had shrewdly observed that our tiny and remote island had fared better than our neighbours, despite nearly identical locations.

That man was the great naturalist Charles Darwin, who went on to transform humanity’s understanding of life with his theory of evolution by natural selection. 

Darwin’s theory of evolution – where species adapt to their environments through a relentless process of variation, competition, and survival – is not limited to biology. It illuminates the dynamics of economic systems, where markets, like ecosystems, self-regulate through pressures of supply, demand, and external shocks. This is especially vivid in real estate, where properties, investors, and developers jostle in a finite arena, evolving or perishing amid changing conditions.

And Mauritius is a striking illustration of such an evolutionary drama. Pre-COVID, our property market was a balanced habitat: stable prices, buoyed by tourism and foreign investment schemes that drew affluent expatriates seeking tropical havens. But the pandemic struck like a cataclysmic asteroid on hapless dinosaurs, upending the ecosystem. What followed was not extinction but a remarkable adaptation – a boom driven by resilience, innovation, and global shifts. 

As we survey the landscape in early 2026, Mauritius’s real estate sector emerges not just recovered, but transformed: prices soaring, buyer demographics diversifying, and developments mutating to meet new demands. This is natural selection in economic form, where the market’s “fittest” have not only survived but dominated.

“Only a tiny percentage of the Island is foreign-owned: around 0.14%.”

How would you describe the performance of the Mauritian real estate sector in 2025, both in the residential and commercial segments?

According to the latest report from the Accountant General available on the Ministry of Finance’s website, in 2025, the sector continued to be a massive revenue generator, contributing approximately 8 billion rupees to the Registrar-General’s Department. This roughly translates to 80 billion rupees’ worth of property transactions. However, this figure captures only a slice of the broader ecosystem, focusing on registration duties. 

A more comprehensive view, drawing from the Bank of Mauritius and Economic Development Board (EDB) data, reveals a sector that continued its robust evolution through 2025, building on the momentum of 2024.

In the residential segment, 2025 marked a year of sustained growth, albeit moderating from the explosive post-pandemic highs. The Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) maintained upward traction, with projections indicating a nominal year-on-year increase of around 15-20%, adjusting for inflation to 10-15% real growth. The milestone of the 6,000th property sale under foreign investment schemes, achieved in late 2024, paved the way for over 700 units sold in 2025 alone, valued at approximately Rs 20 billion in approvals. Regions like the North and West dominated, accounting for 78% of transactions, with average prices for villas and apartments stabilizing at Rs 28-30 million, reflecting a shift toward completed properties over off-plan sales. Foreign buyers, comprising 76 nationalities but led by French and South Africans, drove 70% of high-end demand, attracted by residency thresholds at USD 375,000 and eco-friendly developments emphasizing sustainability.

The commercial segment, while less dominant in volume, exhibited Darwinian resilience amid global economic headwinds. FDI inflows into real estate activities reached Rs 25 billion in the first three quarters of 2025 (extrapolating from Rs 17.3 billion in Q1-Q3 2024), with commercial components like smart cities and office spaces benefiting from infrastructure booms. Construction sector growth, at 13.3% in 2024, likely tapered to 10-12% in 2025, supported by government social housing and drainage projects. 

In a way, the commercial segment has behaved like a more stable, slow-evolving species. It remains a model of resilience with low risk, driven by the expansion of  “Ebene-Réduit-style” urban nodes and the Medine Group’s Cascavelle extensions, reflecting a shift toward integrated “Live-Work-Play” ecosystems rather than speculative developments in the middle of nowhere.

However, hospitality-linked commercial properties saw FDI dip to Rs 1.2 billion, offset by rising interest in mixed-use developments. Overall, the sector’s performance in 2025 underscores adaptation: residential thriving on lifestyle migration, commercial evolving through diversification, all against a GDP growth backdrop of 4-5%.

However, this “boom” is a complex creature. While transaction volumes remained high, the construction sector behind these developments began to show signs of “environmental stress.” We are witnessing a singularity: rising property prices coexisting with construction firms facing severe evolutionary stressors such as rising material costs and labour shortages.

“Investments made legitimately, lawfully, and transparently in Mauritian real estate cannot be challenged by a foreign tax authority.”

For several years, real estate prices have been rising sharply. In your opinion, what are the main factors behind this surge?

I always describe the Mauritian real estate sector as an aggregation of micro-markets. Each region – North, East, West, South, and Centre – operates like a distinct ecological niche, where local supply, demand, and external pressures dictate price dynamics. Each of these niches are in turn divided into sub-niches: the price per square metre of a villa in Tamarina bears no comparison to that of a house in a ‘cul-de-sac’ in Bambous, even though both can, on paper, be described as residential properties in the West.

Overall, however, the price surge you refer to is akin to a population boom in a fertile habitat. It stems from a confluence of adaptive factors that have propelled prices upward by 80% since 2019.

One deceptively simple explanation would be the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI), which has acted as a nutrient-rich influx into our insular ecosystem. Schemes like the Property Development Scheme (PDS), Smart City Scheme (SCS), and others have channelled Rs 152 billion in FDI stock from 2006-2023, with real estate capturing 47% of total inflows. In 2024 alone, FDI in real estate hit Rs 23.95 billion, up from Rs 21.1 billion in 2023, predominantly through luxury schemes at Rs 18.6 billion. This capital influx, from Europe (60%, led by France and Switzerland) and South Africa (16%), has intensified competition for prime properties, pushing average listing prices for foreign-targeted homes to MUR 30.6 million in 2024, a 15.4% year-on-year rise.

But beware of oversimplification: while prices may be rising in Anahita, this doesn’t mean that the same applies to Camp Ithier, situated in the same district.

“While the ‘cost of entry’ has risen, the desire for land remains a fundamental trait of the Mauritian identity. We also see more local families using ‘sociétés civiles’ or ‘copropriétés’ to pool resources and secure properties for the next generation.”

Also, if you aggregate the area of properties sold to foreigners over the past 20 years as per the EDB’s public statistics, i.e. around 6,000 sales, assuming an average area of 500 m² per unit sold (which is on the very high side) and divide it by the total area of Mauritius, you will find that only a tiny percentage of the Island is foreign-owned: around 0.14% (i.e. one-seventh of one percent). This represents half the area of Souillac village only, sold to non-citizens for a total amount of 152 billion rupees over 20 years. The rest of Mauritius remaining fully owned by Mauritians.

Another factor that has driven demand for Mauritian property is the post-pandemic lifestyle change in the world: remote work and digital nomadism transformed buyer profiles, diversifying from retirees to families and entrepreneurs seeking safe havens amid global volatility. Tourism’s rebound, with 1.3 million arrivals annually, amplified demand for vacation rentals and second homes. Limited supply – exacerbated by rising construction costs from global inflation, material shortages, and labour constraints – has created scarcity, further inflating values.

Macroeconomic tailwinds, including low interest rates, fiscal stimuli, and Mauritius’ status as a tax-efficient investment hub (0% capital gains and inheritance tax), have nurtured this growth. 

As in the time of Darwin, infrastructure enhancements such as new connecting roads improve accessibility, making micro-markets like the Centre or the Centre-West (like Cascavelle or Pierrefonds) or the Centre-South-East (such as Rose-Belle) more viable for locals. The same logic will apply when the M4 trunk road sees the light of day.

Thus, this surge is not uniform; it’s a Darwinian selection where high-quality, sustainable properties with green spaces and wellness features outcompete outdated ones, ensuring the fittest traits dominate.

“I always describe the Mauritian real estate sector as an aggregation of micro-markets. Each region – North, East, West, South, and Centre – operates like a distinct ecological niche, where local supply, demand, and external pressures dictate price dynamics.”

Becoming a homeowner in Mauritius is increasingly perceived as costly, even inaccessible for parts of the population. Do you share this view, and how would you explain it?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pointed out in a report published in May 2025 about our country that “residential real estate prices have increased by 80 percent since 2019. By significantly outpacing the 20 percent increase in nominal wages, this has worsened housing affordability.”

But this analysis needs to be nuanced. The IMF relies on the RPPI to declare that residential real estate prices have shot upwards. The RPPI is an index published by Statistics Mauritius, which is a government department previously known as the Central Statistics Office. If you examine the methodology used to generate the RPPI, a massive flaw immediately appears. It predominantly captures high-end transactions under foreign schemes, skewing the index toward luxury micro-markets and overlooking affordable segments.

While home ownership may feel increasingly costly for segments of the local population, particularly lower- and middle-income earners, it’s not universally inaccessible. This perception arises from the evolutionary divergence in our market: while luxury prices have ballooned – apartments at MUR 21.7 million (up 23.3% in 2024) and houses at MUR 28.5 million (up 16.8%) – affordable niches persist, especially in the Centre and near West, where local-targeted properties start at 3 million rupees for reasonably-sized residential plots, apartments and duplexes can be found in the range of 7 to 10 million rupees,  and where other properties average MUR 15 million, rising about 15% year-on-year.

“If you examine the methodology used to generate the RPPI, a massive flaw immediately appears.” 

One of the major explanations lies in supply-demand imbalances amplified by external pressures. 

Rising construction costs – driven by global inflation (materials up 20-30%), skilled labour shortages, and regulatory hurdles – have pushed entry barriers higher. Nominal wage growth lagging at 20% since 2019 exacerbates this, as does the dominance of foreign buyers who bid up prices in desirable areas. Government interventions, like social housing schemes, have mitigated this for some, with construction growth at 13.3% in 2024, including affordable units. 

Yet, for many Mauritians, the dream requires adaptation: opting for smaller properties, off-plan purchases, or regional shifts. It’s a test of evolutionary resilience; those who adapt through financing innovations or policy support survive, while others risk being priced out.

In Darwinian terms, we are seeing “speciation.” The market is forking into two distinct species: the International/Luxury market, which is thriving on foreign capital, and the Local/Social market, which operates on different price levels. While the Central region has emerged as a more “affordable niche” for local buyers, the coastal regions have become a “gold-standard habitat” for high-income earners and expatriates. The government’s social housing efforts, while present, have yet to reach the scale needed to balance this ecosystem.

At the risk of repeating myself, beware again of oversimplification. Foreign capital should not be viewed through the blinkers of property price surges. Our tiny island does not possess the massive mineral resources or geopolitical advantages that other countries do. Any foreign investment in Mauritian property yields at least 20 to 30% of that amount to the State treasury, in the form of registration taxes, VAT and developers’ income taxes. Then you have the multiplier effect on the economy in terms of job creation, and local spending by expatriates. 

Without foreign capital, well… our Central Bank would end up printing money, like Zimbabwe.

“The macroprudential tightening – the BoM increasing interest rates to 4.50% in early 2025 and increasing provisioning requirements for housing loans – acts as a necessary brake to prevent a collapse.”

Can high real estate prices be interpreted as an indicator of imbalance or fragility in the Mauritian economy?

High prices signal strength, not fragility, in our economy’s Darwinian framework. 

They indicate robust demand outstripping supply, underpinned by economic recovery: GDP growth at 3.9% for 2024/25, projected at 4% for 2025, with construction surging 13.3% in 2024. FDI at Rs 33 billion in 2024, mostly in real estate, underscores confidence from international investors.

However, our ecosystem exhibits built-in self-regulation. 

Banks won’t lend if they’re unsure of recovering the value of a property on a forced sale. Contrast this with the folly of the US banks that kept financing subprime mortgage loans. In Mauritius, our banking sector’s prudence ensures that high prices reflect genuine value rather than speculative bubbles. The recent macroprudential tightening – the Bank of Mauritius increasing interest rates to 4.50% in early 2025 and increasing provisioning requirements for housing loans – acts as a necessary brake to prevent a collapse.

Imbalances could emerge if unchecked: affordability strains might dampen local demand, leading to oversupply in luxury segments. The Bank of Mauritius assesses low risk of corrections, thanks to favourable conditions like stable inflation and tourism rebounds. 

Fragility would arise only from external shocks, like global recessions, but our self-regulating market – through developer pivots to sustainable projects and government fiscal consolidation (deficit down to 4.9% GDP in 2025/26) – promotes equilibrium. It’s evolution, not extinction; high prices cull speculative excesses, favouring sustainable growth.

As a notary, do you observe an increase in demand from Mauritians for property acquisition, or rather stagnation or decline?

In my practice at Office Notarial de l’Isle-de-France law firm, I have witnessed a steady increase in demand from Mauritians for property acquisition over the past two years, defying perceptions of stagnation. 

This uptick, though modest compared to foreign-driven booms, reflects adaptive behaviours amid rising prices.

Local buyers, comprising about 30-40% of transactions in affordable segments, have shown resilience, focusing on the Centre and near-West and Centre-South where prices remain accessible (Rs 10-12 million averages for built properties). Factors include wage adjustments in key sectors like finance and tourism, fiscal rebates for first-time buyers, and a cultural emphasis on patrimony.

I also observe an evolution in how Mauritians acquire property. While the “cost of entry” has risen, the desire for land remains a fundamental trait of the Mauritian identity. We also see more local families using ‘sociétés civiles’ or ‘copropriétés’ to pool resources and secure properties for the next generation.

There is also a migration of mid-range local demand toward the Central region and the West, where new Smart City developments offer a more accessible entry point than the ultra-luxury coastal villas.

As a notary, I notarize more deeds for Mauritian families seeking long-term security, illustrating Darwinian selection: those adapting to micro-markets thrive, while others delay but do not abandon the pursuit.

“In the digital era, it is absurd that administrative processes cannot be centralised and overseen efficiently.”

Over the past decade, several measures have been announced to boost the real estate sector. Have they been implemented, and what concrete effects have they had on the market?

As regards foreign buyers, the various schemes — IRS (2001), RES (2007), IHS, and PDS and Smart Cities (2015) — have been the DNA of our sector’s success. They successfully shifted the market from a “mature forest” of incremental growth to a dynamic, FDI-led powerhouse.

The PDS, replacing earlier schemes, streamlined foreign acquisitions with residency perks, leading to Rs 22.4 billion in approvals in 2023—up 250% in count and 790% in value since 2011. Implementation has been robust, with 5,396 units sold cumulatively (value Rs 156.6 billion), shattering records post-2020.

Concrete effects include FDI surges (Rs 152 billion stock, 47% in real estate), price appreciation (80% since 2019), and demographic diversification (39% buyers under 50). Social housing measures, embedded in budgets, drove construction growth to 13.3% in 2024, enhancing affordability for locals. 

However, challenges like rising duties for non-citizens (to 10% from July 2026) spur pre-emptive buys. Overall, these measures have catalysed adaptation, boosting volumes (Rs 23 billion sales in 2023) and positioning Mauritius as a premium destination.

The recent Home Ownership Scheme, which provided a 5% refund on purchases, acted as a massive accelerator during the post-pandemic recovery. However, due to fears of “overheating,” the government is rightly phasing out some of these incentives to prevent a bubble.

The luxury segment occupies an important place in Mauritian real estate. How has this market performed recently, and what are its prospects?

In Darwinian terms, the luxury segment is our “apex predator”—it is the strongest and most resilient part of the market. It is increasingly viewed as a safe haven for European and South African investors seeking to escape “confiscatory” taxation and political instability.

The prospects remain strong because Mauritius offers something few others can: fiscal sovereignty. In a world of global tax interconnection (OECD transparency), the strategy of “concealment” is dead. Mauritius thrives because it offers a legitimate, transparent framework where real estate wealth can be held and transmitted at a zero rate for capital gains and inheritance.

The luxury segment has performed exceptionally, embodying the pinnacle of market evolution. In 2024-2025, it captured Rs 18.6 billion in FDI through schemes like PDS and SCS (up from Rs 13.9 billion in 2023), with average prices at Rs 30.6 million for foreign properties.

Performance highlights include 30% of units over Rs 30 million sold, with villas (44%) and apartments (36%) dominating. Regional hotspots like the East (Rs 52 million averages) saw 71.7% house price growth. Prospects for 2026 are bright: sustained FDI (projected Rs 25-30 billion), emphasis on eco-luxury with smart tech, and residency incentives attract UHNWIs amid global uncertainties. 

Competition notwithstanding, zero capital gains tax, zero wealth tax and zero inheritance tax ensures dominance, with self-correction preventing bubbles.

“We perhaps need to set up an Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to get closer to Singapore in Ease of Doing Business rankings.”

Mauritius faces growing competition from destinations such as Portugal, which is attracting more and more European retirees. How does this competition affect the local real estate market?

Competition is the primary driver of evolution. Destinations like Portugal and Greece are indeed competitors, but they are also subject to their own environmental shifts. For instance, Portugal has recently scaled back many of its tax incentives for foreigners due to local political pressure.

Mauritius can only respond by doubling down on substance and legal certainty and predictability. Our absolute competitive advantage is the 1973 France-Mauritius tax treaty and our 0% tax on capital gains, which remains more attractive than many European “Golden Visa” jurisdictions that still impose various forms of capital taxation. The absence of inheritance tax in Mauritius also exerts a strong gravitational pull.

We have witnessed increasing inflows from Switzerland (up 20% in 2024). Reading between the lines, this confirms the position of Mauritius as a safe haven and a compliant jurisdiction.

It is crucial to understand the future stakes. With the upcoming interconnection of global real estate registers driven by the OECD, the tax administration of a foreign investor’s home country will have total visibility over all their assets worldwide (except for rogue states). I repeat: the strategy of concealment is dead.

Mauritius makes the difference through fiscal sovereignty. Investments made legitimately, lawfully, and transparently in Mauritian real estate cannot be challenged by a foreign tax authority. This asset is invaluable for European investors who accept transparency but reject confiscatory capital taxation, such as the Zucman tax which some French legislators aim to implement. For a French investor specifically, the 1973 tax treaty, combined with proper notarial structuring based on legal and non-abusive civil law mechanisms, offers a breath of fresh air. Subject to meeting international criteria for substance and fiscal residency, Mauritius offers a legal framework to hold and transmit real estate wealth at a zero rate, in full transparency.

With the arrival of the new government, do you anticipate reforms or orientations likely to transform the Mauritian real estate sector?

As the old saying goes, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. 

Our real estate sector remains a major contributor to the economy and its growth. Any tax increases would adversely affect the property market and act as a negative stressor on our economy. In particular, any form of capital gains or inheritance taxation would send a catastrophic signal to Mauritian and foreign buyers alike and send the market in a tailspin.

Governments have come and gone, tried all sorts of innovative ideas such as the blue economy, the green economy, IT, artificial intelligence, healthcare, which are all fine things… but which all rely on one essential premise: the existence of an attractive physical environment for investors, executives, workers and researchers to settle in. Those other sectors should therefore not be viewed as being alternative, but rather complementary, to the property sector. 

That said, one vital reform is needed: cutting down on red tape. This is the single biggest turn-off for foreign investors… and Mauritian entrepreneurs too. It’s unacceptable that an island nation that prides itself on emulating international financial centres like Singapore or the Netherlands should be overburdened by bureaucracy. In the digital era, it is absurd that administrative processes cannot be centralised and overseen efficiently. I’m definitely not advocating a free-for-all, Wild West approach like Dubai, which is abhorrent to me. But perhaps we need to set up an Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to get closer to Singapore in Ease of Doing Business rankings.

If we fail to do so, then on the global evolutionary chequerboard, we’ll be the equivalent of the Dodo sitting placidly waiting for tambalacoque seeds to fall from above while the Dutch – yet again – have a field day and drive us to extinction.

On another note, we are entering a phase of digital evolution. The imminent deployment of the Electronic Authentic Deed in the notarial field will be a game-changer. It allows for digital signatures and secure, near-instantaneous deed transmission, providing Mauritian and international buyers alike with digital speed without sacrificing the security of paper.

The Chamber of Notaries, supported by the EDB and the Registrar-General, is actively promoting the efficiency of property contracts (such as VEFA/off-plan sales and co-ownership regulations) to align them with the best international standards.

Maître Patrice Avrillon, the new President of the Chamber of Notaries of Mauritius, recently announced that “innovation will be at the heart of our priorities. The deployment of the Electronic Authentic Deed will allow for the secure transmission of deeds to the Registration Office. This evolution aims to improve the traceability, speed, and legal security of our services.”

We are witnessing a multiplication of real estate agencies in the market. Is there a specific regulatory framework that governs their practices to protect consumers from excessive fees?

Like I’ve said earlier, the overall real estate market is, to a large extent, self-regulating. However, agencies have proliferated as the market boomed – over 200 operators, up 20% in five years – driven by high commissions (2-5% of sales) and just like on the African plains where the wildebeest become too numerous, a culling mechanism had to be introduced. Thus came about the Real Estate Agent Authority Act (2020), which was a significant step toward professionalizing the sector, requiring agents to be registered and adhere to a code of conduct.

While the Act provides a structure, natural selection still plays a role. In a market where digital transparency is increasing, agencies that charge predatory fees without providing high-value advisory services — such as deep legal and tax insights — will eventually face obsolescence as clients gravitate toward established, reputable firms.

Notaries provide an added layer of control, by advising vendors and buyers on fair practices, and by ensuring that agency fees are paid through the notarial client accounts in a transparent and verifiable manner. This blend of regulation and market forces safeguards consumers, promoting a healthy ecosystem.

Investing in Mauritius in 2026 means choosing substance and compliance. Our real estate story proves that disruption begets adaptation. Those who embrace change will thrive; those who remain static risk obsolescence in the relentless march of market evolution.

About Me Ashvin Krishna Dwarka

Me Ashvin Krishna Dwarka is a Notary and Senior Partner at Office Notarial de l’Isle-de-France (Law Firm). He holds an LLM in Taxation from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a DESS from Sorbonne. He is a former associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris