Apartments for sale in El Manar

Buying in El Manar almost always means answering one question before viewing: are you buying to live there, or to let? The district, built around the university campus from the 1990s onwards, mixes four or five storey blocks, newer developer residences and villas being demolished to make way for small apartment buildings. Each type of building suits a different plan.

Listings for a flat for sale in manar 2 and the rest of the area are posted by owners, developers and agencies you contact directly. For Menzah 1 to 4, Mutuelle Ville and the delegation as a whole, see the flats for sale in El Menzah.

Buying to let to students

An apartment in manar 2 close to the faculties lets almost all year round: the Faculty of Sciences, ENIT and the other institutions on the campus ensure a steady flow of students, PhD candidates and lecturers. Investors therefore target compact S+1 and S+2 flats, easy to furnish and to relet from one academic year to the next.

The calculation deserves to be done honestly. Rents for a furnished S+1 are well known and fairly stable, but wear and tear is faster than with a family, summer can stay empty, and someone on site has to handle move-ins and move-outs. To estimate the real income from a property, look at what owners are asking on the flats to rent in El Manar before setting your purchase price.

Remote management is the other point to plan for. Many buyers live abroad or in another city, and leave the keys with a neighbour or an agency. Factor that cost into the yield, along with replacing the furniture every few years.

Buying to live in: new build or resale

Families tend to look at S+3 flats in recent residences, with a lift, underground parking and a caretaker, often towards the northern extensions known locally as Manar 3. The price per square metre for new developer builds is most often between 3,000 and 4,000 DT, on a par with the best addresses in the delegation and above Menzah 4.

Resales in buildings from the 1990s and 2000s offer more space for the same budget, generally between 2,300 and 3,000 DT per square metre depending on the floor and upkeep. These flats often have good layouts, but the common areas, the roof terrace waterproofing and the lift, where there is one, call for a careful look. For a villa floor or a house, all the property for sale in El Manar widens the options.

The offer varies with the seasons, fuller in spring when sellers want to close before summer, and it is renewed faster among new builds than in older stock.

The checks that protect the buyer

For a new build, ask the developer for its licence, the building permit and the co-ownership rules before paying anything. When buying off plan, the payment schedule must follow the actual progress of the works, and the contract must be registered. For older stock, have the land title and the individual registration of the unit checked: some buildings put up by private individuals have incomplete land records, which later block a bank loan.

Also question the property manager: amount of charges, works voted or to be expected, any arrears. Come back on a weekday evening to judge parking and noise, especially if the building is close to the faculties. Finally, budget for the deed registration fees and the notary's or lawyer's fees on top of the advertised price.