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Just my $0.02
From my perspective :
Up and until 1993 ( when the gates of heaven was opened ) , the only expats living on the islands were:
banking mgmt on overseas transfer , similar to other employees of some international companies, the members of the diplomatic corps and their followers, the employees of a few International organisations and from time to time, expats employed by the govt or local companies because they were deemed to be experts in certain fields)
Most , if not all, were given free housing or subsidies for lodging ( the lucky ones had both a house in curepipe -Floréal and a bungalow on the beach). So the demand was there and the supply - well the answer is easy .

From 1993 : the island started accepting residents from South Africa and since most of them were used to big houses, the demand were there for new housing with certain specs. Some were lucky to "buy their  permit" to get  land to build on or to buy a house outright  until someone woke up at govt house   . Along the way,  some big land owners saw the way to make money and the morcellements for a certain customer base spiked.

Then came 2006 when the govt decided to let more entrepreneurs, professionals and retirees in BUT they are not allowed to own property  unless under some conditions.
So guess what , every single owner of land or  those with money realise that there is money to be made and everyone believes that they can offer better than the other - from the former sugar industry barons  to the mom&pop who do see the opportunities  to the diaspora crowd who has made its money abroad and decides to jump in the band wagon.

Thus everyone believes that , by  keeping the build-ups, they will make money : from the hotels, IRS, RES, apt building to the  bungalows.
W/o a proper market research which should encompass competitive intel on the surrounding  islands , everyone thinks that there is money to be made and don't  realise that what goes up must come down.  Infinity is used  only in mathematical problems but not  in real life ( or may be the quants of the financial fiascos in  investment banking) - otherwise  we won't have poverty  in this world.  Everyone is an opportunist instead of being a realist. The policy of the govt of a "ME TOO" is a  stop-gap solution  to counter the competition from other nations in the Indian Ocean but not an intelligent or a well-thought one.

So to give you an  answer , only a minority of the expats who have to be mobile in their career or function with their employer can afford to pay the rents being asked ( well it is being paid for them). Some of those realestate agents ( most non-locals) are drinking a certain kool-aid that may taste very bitter pretty soon.
Look at  one RES company which is going under and the developers are resurfacing under another name to get financing for yet another residential project .

Thanks for your input External. Have you lived in Mauritius?

I do believe that there will be a 'crash' in the Mauritian property market and a lot of people will be left with empty houses and no tenants to pay their mortgages.  It may take this happening to bring prices to a reasonable level.

Hi
It is very nice to hear from tenent like you. I completely  agree with you, if you look after the property the landlord also will look after the tenant. It works both ways. But unfortunately some lanlords describe their property nice and clean, but when you view it is not so. Also some tenent are very Nice at the beginning then they change their tune and when they leave they want to keep the deposit for the last month, and landlord have to chase them for the bills. Especially Mauritian tenants.

Very true BG16 - it works both ways.  Landlords do need to look past the short term quick cash and if they find a long term tenant who looks after their property it is a win win situation. Realistic expectations and respect for each other is key.

It's mainly greed and an attempt to artificially inflate the market. Some expats come over with no perception of the market and end up paying way over the odds for the first place they see, which is what some owners hoping for. The downside for some owners is that they are shooting themselves in the foot. Some places my way have been advertised at crazy prices and have been empty the entire time I've been here. The upside is that all the houses in my road are empty apart from mine

I do agree that the market is artificially inflated and just wonder how long it can last. 

There seems to be many, many, many homes for rent that sit empty for months (or years) and I have to wonder how the owners afford to allow this to happen, why build a house to rent if you are going to let it sit empty, surely it is better to accept less rent (in some cases a lot less) than receive no income at all. 

When we first arrived in Mauritius almost 6 years ago there were only a few estate agents, mostly local ones who had realistic views on the local market, now there are many 'big' real estate agents with 'international ideas' and I suspect that some of these agents are largely responsible for the current high prices and for promoting the unrealistic expectations of the home owners.

It will have to crash sooner or later.

Those prices are ridiculous

When I move to Mauritius I would rather buy my own cheap small flat than rent to be honest.

They are ridiculous korn1 but you will have to meet certain criteria to be allowed to buy property.  We are about to apply for our 10 yer permit and even if that is granted we will only be allowed to buy an apartment in certain types of complexes which meet pre set standards.

Expats are not allowed to buy property in Mauritius just because they want to.

I am half Mauritian so I will be getting my Mauritian ID and passport soon

Also don't they realise it costs a lot for expats to move? I am sure many people would battle to pay rent(of that price range) when moving.

Some agents and some Mauritians from overseas believe that the market in Mauritius is like Marbella or Monaco or the côte d"azur. Hence my comment about the kool aid they are drinking.

What gets me is comments from some agents from those well-branded companies from SA, UK or France who say that the locals are messing up their business or don't know how to operate Granted there are some local agents who can't do a simple conversion from toise to  metre carrés but how "culturally" smart are those non-locals to really know if the house is built on solid land if he /she can't  converse with the busy body of the area/community.

There is one company whereby the agents - both foreign and local - won't pick up the phone or reply to the e-mail of those residing on the island as expats or those Mauritians from abroad who are looking for an abode on the island. They deal only with those so-called rich investors.