Property prices in Madagascar

To kick off the conversation that is general and broad I will add some I my thoughts.

I recommend that when you arrive in Madagascar is that you stay in a hotel for at least a week in the area you are interested in, this way you can get a reduction price of your room. The longer you stay the greater the savings.

Then you travel and look around the various neighborhoods and get a feel for the surroundings, and rental prices that will fit your budget.  An apt. or house for rent rules vary so talk with the owners and the neighbors. 

I moved around to some 20 different communities around Madagascar from Diego to Fort Dauphin Tulear and
Mahajanga, Saint Marie, crisscrossing the Island mostly by Taxi Brousse to get the lay of the land and climate and to better understand the locals and their ideas, all  around the island over 5 months till I choose Mahajanga. 


Each community has a least one ex pat hang out and check out that as well for balance. 

After you have rented for at least three years, you will be able to come to terms if you still want to live in Madagascar and invest or  rent. 

Price of land varies and starts at zero dollars if you are willing to homestead on up to buying in the center of town or neighborhood.  This will all come to be clear to you after your first three years.

I first rented a 1000 square foot house on 1 acre with all Vasaha amenities ( inside toilet and Kitchen and tiled rooms) much like I would get in the USA. I rented for $100 a month and that was 11 years ago- and went back last year to the same house rental and it was $150.
French double doors opened up to  overlooked the Mozambique channel and had the  great views and a nice cool breeze, nice neighbors. Mostly locals that  had lived there for a generation or more and got the land for free back then.

I bought my land, had a cement house built according to my plans and have lived here in Mahajanga for 10 years.  My last tax payment for $3  back in 2011 and still waiting for the 2012 taxes to come out.

Hi Alex 

I find this information quite interesting.

Do you have to rent for 3 years before you can homestead?

Looking forward to hearing from you

Many thanks

Vonnie

Other than becoming a Malagasy National and obtaining some rights as a citizen or marrying a local or putting the land in your children's names and/or homestead or squat on land, even the locals can lose land that they have homestead for 20 years when the land locals developed has added value in the eyes of the future investors. 

You would have to come here to see what it is you can actually do or can't do according to your plans and how well you would be accepted and your relationship with the local community and how far out in the wilderness you are willing to brave.

Even in First world countries where land titles are clear and legal, Land can still be taken away by the state or corporation if that land is deemed " Eminent  Domain" 


To buy a real property as a foreigner in Madagascar

Madagascar Foreigner purchasing property. On Big Island, the legal situation of the real property and the nationality of the purchaser affect the methods of purchase. For the people who do not hold Malagasy nationality, two alternatives arise: the emphyteutic lease or the claim to the property rights as well as the Malagasy citizens. Addressing himself particularly to the companies, this second option requires the presentation of an investment plan. It is then of the spring of the government and EDBM to be decisive on acceptance of the project and by the same occasion the granting of the home-ownership rights.

(Economic Development Board of Madagascar)

Many foreigners opt for the lease  if they are not married . 

The emphyteutic lease is the most adapted option to buy for the individuals wishing to acquire a real property on the Big Island. For a foreigner, this kind of lease is more advantageous and more secure than the classical rent. The statute of hereditary lessee indeed offers the privilege to enjoy the property rights for one pre-finished and agreed length of time ranging between 18 and 99 years.