Land and farms for sale in La Soukra

A generation ago, La Soukra was still the market-garden and fruit-growing countryside of the northern suburbs, with orchards, farms and large family estates. Much of that land has been divided up and built on, but free parcels remain, back gardens to split off, plots in recent housing estates and a few pieces of land still farmed. They are what feeds the listings for land for sale in La Soukra.

Sellers are mostly private individuals, often heirs, and land developers. You contact them directly. The supply is irregular and good plots go fast; to compare with Raoued, Mnihla or Kalaat El Andalous, which are more rural, all the land for sale in the Ariana governorate is grouped on one page.

Building plots: Chotrana, Ennasim, Ettaamir

The strongest demand is for a 200 to 500 m² building plot in a serviced housing estate, to build a villa or a house with an upper floor. In Chotrana, the remaining plots are rare and expensive, because they sit in an already equipped area, close to the motorway and the Lac. Ennasim and Ettaamir offer more parcels, at more affordable prices, with roads and utilities sometimes still incomplete.

A plot sold in an approved housing estate must have a number, a plan and a set of specifications fixing the permitted height, the footprint and the setbacks. Ask for them before any discussion: they are what tells you what you will really be able to build.

Also check that the developer has actually built, or has committed to build, the promised utilities: roads, electricity, drinking water and sewerage. In several housing estates in the northern suburbs, buyers waited years for a connection to the ONAS network. A plot without mains sewerage forces you to use a septic tank and resells less well. Finally, find out about the municipal taxes due on undeveloped land: a plot kept unbuilt for a long time has a yearly cost.

Dar Fadhal, Borj Louzir: large parcels and back gardens

In Dar Fadhal and Borj Louzir, you find larger parcels, former orchards or villa gardens split off by heirs. They interest families who want a big house with a garden and small developers planning a few semi-detached villas or a three-storey building. Value here depends less on area than on access: a parcel fronting a tarmac road is worth far more than a landlocked plot reached by a private track.

Beware of informal subdivisions. A back garden sold without an official subdivision or its own title can stay unsellable or unbuildable for years. Insist on an individual land title, or at the very least a subdivision file lodged with the land registry.

Agricultural or buildable land: the decisive question

Not all land in La Soukra is buildable. Part of it remains zoned agricultural in the urban development plan, and agricultural land sells for much less than building land, for a good reason: getting a building permit there is difficult or impossible as long as the land's designation has not changed. Before buying, ask the municipality for a land-use certificate.

For land still being farmed, also check access to water, a declared well or a mains connection, and the state of the fencing. The delegation's low-lying parcels hold water during autumn rain, something to see on site after a storm. In the southern part, near the airport, easements limit the height of buildings.

Buying land or a finished house

Building yourself in La Soukra takes time: purchase, permit, construction, connections, often two years at the very least. For anyone who wants to move in sooner, the houses for sale in La Soukra give another answer for the same budget. And to compare the cost of building with the market, the property for sale in La Soukra shows the prices asked in each sector.