Apartments for sale in El Menzah

In El Menzah there is almost no building land left. The new blocks appearing in Manar 2 or Menzah 4 therefore come from demolishing old villas, replaced by small three or four storey buildings. That mechanism sets the market: few new apartments, plenty of resales in 1970s and 1980s blocks, and prices that hold up because the delegation is wedged between the Belvedere park, the university campus and Centre Urbain Nord.

The listings for Manar 2, Menzah 1 or Mutuelle Ville published on houni.tn come from owners, developers and agencies who answer the phone themselves.

In El Manar, new build slips in between the villas

A sale in Manar 1 concerns a district of villas where the blocks stay low: you find S+3 and S+4 units (three or four bedrooms plus a living room) of 120 to 160 sq m in two or three storey buildings, with underground parking, a step away from the private schools and the clinic. Buyers are families who already know the area, and properties go quickly.

An apartment in Manar 2 is bought for two opposite reasons. Either to live in, in the recent developments towards the science faculty road; or to let to students and lecturers at the El Manar campus, with S+1 and S+2 units that find a tenant eleven months out of twelve. The square metre in developer new build often runs between 3,000 and 4,000 DT depending on the floor, the standard of finish and whether parking is included; 1980s stock is frequently found between 2,300 and 2,900 DT.

From Menzah 1 to Mutuelle Ville: older stock that holds its value

Menzah 1 and Menzah 2 mostly sell apartments in low blocks from the 1960s and 1970s: high ceilings, double reception rooms, balconies over streets lined with ficus trees, but no lift and wiring of the period. What you pay for is the address: the Belvedere on foot, the schools, the shops of Menzah 1. A 110 sq m S+3 needing renovation is negotiable, and it rarely goes at the asking price.

Mutuelle Ville plays higher: large apartments of 150 sq m and up, prestige buildings, buyers from the professions who sometimes put their practice on the ground floor. Few listings, high prices, short negotiations.

Menzah 4, around the Olympic City, and cite Mahrajene are in my view the two areas to watch for anyone who wants to buy in the delegation without paying Menzah 1 prices: decent S+2 and S+3 units in well maintained estate blocks, at markedly less.

What people regret after signing

In new build, ask the developer for their licence, the building permit and the co-ownership rules before paying anything; buying off plan, insist on a registered contract with a schedule tied to construction progress, not to the calendar. In older property in Menzah 1 or Manar 1, have the land title checked (many older buildings have poorly individualised lots) and look at the state of the roof terrace and the water riser, two expensive items to be shared between owners.

Budget as well for the registration of the deed and, in a recent development, service charges that often exceed 60 DT a month. And come back on a weekday evening: parking in the streets of Menzah 1 and Mutuelle Ville is the number one regret among buyers.

To compare with the other delegations, see the apartments for sale in Tunis page. To work out what the property would bring in once let, the apartments to rent in El Menzah give an idea of the rent an S+2 near the campus commands, and every property for sale, houses included, is on the homes for sale in El Menzah page.