Over 16,300 citizens have benefited from the Direct Housing Assistance Program and successfully acquired their residences by July 2, highlighting the significant interest among Moroccans in the program, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, Minister of National Territory Planning, Urbanism, Housing, and City Policy, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Upper House, the Minister noted that the value of homes purchased under this program, which targets Moroccans who do not own property and have never received housing assistance, has reached 6.3 billion MAD.
Out of the total number of applications received, 39% were young people under the age of 35, 22 % were submitted by Moroccans living abroad, and 44% were women, she pointed out.
The minister said that since the launch of the program, indicators in the housing sector have shown positive growth, with the number of authorized projects rising by 16%, cement sales increasing by 20%, housing loans growing by 1.5%, and loans for real estate developers rising by 3.8%, between May 2023 and May 2024.
In terms of beneficiary distribution, she reported that the cities of Fez, Berrechid, Kénitra, and Casablanca occupied the top five places. She added that 41% of the beneficiaries acquired houses priced at or below 300,000 MAD, adding that 90% of those registered met the eligibility criteria for this aid.
As of July 2, a total of 81,683 applications for housing assistance have been registered, according to El Mansouri. Of these, 89% have been determined to be eligible for assistance.
The data indicates that 39% of applications were submitted by women, 20% by Moroccan expatriates, and 37% by young people.
El Mansouri also highlighted the partnerships that have been forged to successfully implement the program, citing the signing of an agreement with Morocco’s financial arm, the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) to create a digital platform for managing the subsidy mechanism.
The Direct Housing Assistance Program is a Royal, state-funded program intended to improve citizens’ purchasing power to afford proper dwellings. Running from 2024 to 2028, the initiative offers financial assistance commensurate with the valuation of the designated property. Houses worth 300,000 MAD or less will receive 100,000 MAD in aid, while those valued between 300,000 – 700,000 MAD will receive 70,000 MAD.