For sale: 36 square meter studio in the “golden square”, near the Casino, 2 million euros. Apartment of 41 m² with terrace at La Condamine: 2.3 million. Three rooms of 95 m², in the only pedestrian street of the city-state: 4.8 million. Consulting the real estate advertisements of the rare apartments for sale in Monaco quickly makes you dizzy.

Tiny, the Monegasque real estate market records the highest real estate prices in the world, ahead of Hong Kong. At 47.679 euros per m² resale on average in 2020, according to figures from the Monegasque Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (Imsee) – compared to less than 11,000 euros per m2 in Paris.

Fierce competition

If the prices on the Rock are stratospheric, the quality of the goods offered often seems disconnected. “Most of the current housing stock dates back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and has not been renovated overall. It is evolving but it takes time ”, recognizes Alexander Kraft, CEO of the network of prestigious real estate agencies Sotheby’s International Realty for France and Monaco.

This may make some buyers tick, but the Principality retains other strengths. “Owning a little piece of Monaco is so rare, so reassuring! “, Notes Laurent Demeure, CEO of Coldwell Banker Europa Realty, that the rich customers remain at the rendezvous.

“Monaco continues to attract, thanks to the tax advantages it offers, but also because the quality of life is unbeatable, with a perfect location, numerous services and total security. You can go out with jewelry, luxury watches, a nice car without any risk. And the cost of living there is much lower than that of other European cities like Zurich or London ”, adds Alexander Kraft.

Non-resident market

In 2020, 411 transactions were recorded in Monaco in old real estate (compared to 462 in 2019), according to Imsee. In this small market, the competition is tough. “The approximately 400 annual transactions are managed by 200 to 250 branches. Most of them only make one or two sales a year, ”notes Alexander Kraft.

If luxury real estate in France and across the planet is doing like a charm despite the Covid-19 epidemic, it has made more progress in the Principality. “Monaco is a market for non-residents. Customers mainly buy studios and two-room apartments for tax reasons. These buyers had to deal with traffic restrictions, ”notes Laurent Demeure.

The Europeans were still able to move. “There was a drop but not a huge trough in transactions,” says Alexander Kraft. In addition, there should be more buyers as soon as the health situation improves.

“The housing of the new Monaco extension program on the sea should be offered around 100,000 euros per m.² “, Predicts Laurent Demeure. According to him, they will sell without the slightest difficulty.