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(Editor's Note: Read our previous macroeconomic analysis here: Property Anchors Mauritius FDI as Inflows Jump 45.6%.)
While Mauritius celebrated a record-breaking surge in total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2025, the island's traditional growth engine, real estate, experienced a subtle but notable cooling period. Gross direct investment directed into real estate activities dipped from Rs 23.95 billion in 2024 to Rs 21.39 billion in 2025. To understand this contraction, developers and investors must look closely at the cornerstone of Mauritian property investment: designated luxury schemes.
The 2024–2025 Scheme Contraction
The broader bucket of designated luxury schemes, which groups the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS), Real Estate Scheme (RES), Invest Hotel Scheme (IHS), Property Development Scheme (PDS), and Smart City Scheme (SCS), experienced a collective year-over-year drop. Total inflows into these specific programs fell from Rs 18.63 billion in 2024 to Rs 17.17 billion in 2025. This contraction directly accounts for the overarching dip in real estate FDI and suggests that the supply-demand dynamic for structured luxury properties may be temporarily stabilizing after years of aggressive expansion.
The PDS Growth Engine Context
This cooling phase comes on the heels of historic highs driven heavily by the PDS. Introduced in 2015 to replace older frameworks, the PDS was designed to allow the development of residences for non-citizens without a minimum selling price, rapidly becoming a vital conduit for foreign capital. By 2022, PDS sales alone had surged to Rs 10.8 billion, representing a massive portion of the island's property market at the time. The recent plateauing from these historic peaks highlights a natural market maturation.
UK and French Buyers Continue to Drive the Market Even with this year-over-year dip in scheme volume, the demographic driving the multi-billion-rupee property market remains fiercely consistent: European investors. Historically, French buyers have dominated the Mauritian property landscape, accounting for an overwhelming 42% of all foreign buyers over the long term, while South Africans made up 22% and the British represented 7%.
However, the 2025 FDI inflows reveal a dramatic shift in momentum. The United Kingdom has emerged as the absolute powerhouse of inbound capital globally, injecting a staggering Rs 19.45 billion into the Mauritian economy, while France maintained its foundational role with Rs 8.89 billion.
With 80% of the historical property market demand heavily concentrated on villas and apartments, the continued influx of British and French capital proves a crucial point. While the total volume of real estate FDI may have dipped slightly year-over-year, the appetite among developed European economies for premium Mauritian assets remains deeply entrenched.
*Please note that the 2025 investment figures provided by the Bank of Mauritius are preliminary estimates excluding the Global Business Sector and based on FALS data.
