Monaco remains the most expensive prime residential market in the world with the average price per square metre now at €48,800. A recent report by Savills has revealed that just over €2.7 billion worth of residential property was transacted in 2018, an increase of 31%, with an average sales price of €5,200,000.
According to the latest figures from 2018, the average price per square metre in the Principality increased by 18%. Average prime residential values are now 237% higher than Paris, 194% higher than London and 10% than Hong Kong.
Transaction volumes were also up by 15% in 2018 compared with the previous year. Sales of new build property increased by 44% to 72 sales, a record high for Monaco. However they accounted for just 14% of total sales as re-sale stock continues to dominate the market.
There was also a noticeable increase in transactions over €5 million. In 2018, there were 142 transactions, up by 42% compared with 2017 and nearly double compared with five years ago. Driven by demand from families moving to Monaco, sales of four bedroom and larger homes increased by 59% while studio sales fell by nearly a quarter.
“We have noted a notable increase in demand from British, Middle Eastern, Turkish and Greek buyers over the course of 2018,” says Irene Luke, head of Savills Monaco.
Monaco is also the most expensive market in which to rent prime residential property with an average rental value of €1,200 per square metre.
“There is a huge imbalance between demand and supply which will continue to put upward pressure on prices,” says Sophie Chick, director, Savills World Research, “however we don’t expect values to increase at the same rate seen in 2018 as, globally, buyers are becoming more price sensitive.
F1 Championship leader Valtteri Bottas backs Monaco luxury property investor and developer
Formula One championship leader Valtteri Bottas has become a major shareholder in Monaco property investment company Azurite, set up by serial entrepreneur and fellow Monaco resident Nigel Robertson.
Current F1 Championship leader Valtteri Bottas
Bottas, a seasoned investor currently leading the F1 championship, will become Azurite’s global brand ambassador. The company is readying plans to raise significant funding over the coming months to take advantage of luxury property demand in Monaco, where Bottas lives.
Azurite’s backers include high-net-worth individuals, institutional investors and family offices. The business aims to capitalise on the Principality’s constricted property market by opening up investment in development and refurbishment to outside investors for the first time.
Azurite was founded by Nigel Robertson, a Monaco resident of 20 years who has a strong network across the Principality and built his career by launching online directory service Scoot.com, which achieved a market cap of £2.5 billion. He was also the largest seed investor in ASOS, the online fashion giant, now valued at over £3.9bn.
Working in partnership with local developers including Monaco Projects, which has two decades of experience in the area, Robertson has created a strong team with senior property and investment figures. He sees huge opportunity within the secure and notoriously private Monaco market.
“It’s fantastic to have Valtteri on board and as one of the world’s leading sportsmen, he will be a great ambassador for Azurite,” said Nigel Robertson, founder of Azurite.
“Right now, there’s growing demand for Monaco property with a huge barrier to entry for external investors. Like Monaco’s F1 circuit, the market is very tight but we’re looking to change that and partner with local developers to create new properties and refurbish some of the older ones. Against a backdrop of uncertainty – particularly with major changes in retail and the political chaos in Britain – Monaco is a highly attractive opportunity with solid fundamentals and continued strong demand.”
Rendering of luxury apartments on the new Portier man-made island in Monaco. Picture: BOUYGUES CONSTRUCTION
Demand for new resident applications has been so great that the Monaco government has approved an investment of over €2 billion into a land reclamation project to create new villas and apartments across six hectares of land. Despite the country being only slightly bigger than London’s Regent’s Park, property prices can easily support the investment thanks to the severe lack of supply.
“Timing is everything in F1 and in business, and Nigel has a proven track record in finding the right opportunities to enter a market,” said Valtteri Bottas. “As an F1 driver, I have grown to love Monaco and am very excited about helping Azurite open up the market to different investors, many of whom wouldn’t typically invest in the country’s exclusive residential market on their own.
“Monaco has a close family network – much like the F1 circuit – and these relationships will be critical to helping Azurite unlock opportunities for investors, coming at a time of exciting growth across the principality.”
Bottas has had a sensational start to the season and is currently leading the F1 Championship having won the season opener in Australia as well as Azerbaijan. His team Mercedes have had the most successful start to the season in the sport’s history with four consecutive one-two’s in Australia, Bahrain, China and Azerbaijan.
Significant demand and limited space has led to growth in the price of property in Monaco, which has witnessed 10.5% annual compounded price growth since 2006, according to Monaco Statistics IMSEE, and saw the highest global inflows of HNWIs last year out of all countries.
The Monaco Yacht Club will be hosting the first ever Explorer Yacht Summit at the end of May, focusing on expedition yachting.
The Explorer Yachts Summit is a definitive forum for owners, captains and industry professionals to share and discuss the unique challenges of travelling to remote destinations.
Held on 29th May at the Yacht Club of Monaco, the full-day event promises to provide invaluable insights from the world’s pioneering explorer yacht designers, builders and suppliers. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with experts at the forefront of expedition yachting and prepare to discover new frontiers.
They will be able to delve deep into the multifaceted world of exploration through the eyes of those who have embarked on voyages of discovery and are directly involved with Explorer Yachts.
Be it as suppliers, experts, builders, scientists, researchers, engineers, owners, captains or adventurers – each has their story to tell and the Explorer Yachts Summit is where it will be told.
The Explorer Yachts Summit speakers include many of the superyacht industry’s leading experts from the fields of explorer yacht design, construction and operation. They are shaping the future of expedition yachting and will be sharing their extensive experience and detailed insight on a wide range of specialist topics.
Delegates will learn about the regulations, engineering challenges and unique complexities of safe yacht, helicopter, submarine and tender operations in remote locations.
The glitzy streets of Monaco give way to the most unpredictable race series on the planet as Formula E returns to the harbour front on 11th May. This year, spectators will enjoy a host of fun new additions, including an ‘attack mode’ reminiscent of a computer game.
Formula E has been to Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Chile, Mexico, Hong Kong and mainland China, while the Rome E-Prix kick started the European leg of the season, followed by Paris. After Monaco comes Berlin and Bern before the season-ending double-header in New York.
Compared with Formula 1, Formula E is considerably more friendly to the environment. The sport was developed with sustainability in mind, with organisers saying the aim is to “reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible”.
It does this by powering its cars with a battery that uses 100% renewable fuel and tyres that, as well as lasting an entire race, can also be recycled afterwards. Meanwhile, spectators are encouraged to use public transport to get to events.
One drawback with battery-powered cars had been that they lacked the capacity to last an entire race, resulting in the rather unusual sight of drivers having to swap cars mid-race.
That will no longer happen – this season’s Gen2 car is fitted with a battery that will last from start to finish of races.
Another difference in the 2019 season is that qualification groups are no longer drawn. Four groups of six drivers have each been devised in accordance with the overall classification of the championship.
Also, an ‘Attack Mode’ has been introduced. Normally, the cars have 200 kW (268 hp) of power, but at several times during the race drivers will have to drive on a section of track to activate the mode, bringing an extra 25 kW (33.5 hp) of power to the car. The ‘Fan Boost’ remains the same this year, giving the public an opportunity via social networks to offer 25 extra kW (33.5 hp) to their favourite driver. The number of drivers to receive this has increased from three to five. The drivers will have to activate the ‘Fan Boost’ during the ‘Attack Mode’, which will give them 50 extra kW (67 hp).
Nico Rosberg in a Formula E Gen2 car at the 2018 Berlin E-Prix
This year, three “former” F1 drivers will be competing in Formula E: Pascal Wehrlein with Mahindra Racing, Felipe Massa has chosen Monégasque team Venturi, and Stoffel Vandoorne has signed with the new team HWA RACELAB. Sebastien Buemi, double winner of the Monaco E-Prix – and also a former F1 driver – will defend his title on the track, which has been specially created on the lower part of the original track of the Monaco Grand Prix.
There will also be a Gaming Zone with simulators for fans, and autograph signing with drivers.
Tickets cost 30€ and can be purchased online (http://www.monaco-eprix.com) or directly at the service location of the Automobile Club de Monaco on 4 rue Grimaldi in Monaco.
Children up to 16 years old can attend the event for free when accompanied by a full paying adult.
The Lions Club of Monaco, in partnership with Isabelle Bonnal, Director of National Education of Monaco, have launched the ‘Glasses for all’ project.
The operation aims to restore hope, dignity and integrity to children so that with a better view they can find their way back to school. It also gives men and women valuable help to provide for their families.
As part of the project, glasses will be collected from CM2 students at schools in the Principality. Opticians are also invited to collaborate by sending the used glasses left by their clients to the Monaco Lions Club.
From 13th May to 14th June, donation boxes will be available in cooperating schools.
The winners of the annual Monte Carlo Woman of the Year Awards have been announced at a gala ceremony at the Oceanographic Museum. The theme for the 8th edition, which was held on Saturday 4th May, was Art and Science, inspired by the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci.
Sougwen Chung, Orlan and Elena Rossoni-Notter
Sougwen Chung (Chinese-Canadian) won the main ‘Woman of the Year, Monte-Carlo Award’, while Elena Rossoni-Notter (Monegasque) received the ‘Woman of the Year – Monaco’ award, and Orlan (French) received the ‘Woman of the Year, Special Award’.
Sougwen Chung is a Chinese multimedia artist who spent her childhood in Canada and lives in New York. She has been working with robots since 2015, exploring the links between handmade and design machines, to understand the relationship between humans and computers. Her work includes film, painting, sculpture, installation and performance.
Elena Rossoni-Notter is the Director of the Museum of Prehistoric Archaeology of Monaco, and was awarded for her commitment and tenacity during the discovery and dissemination of archaeological research in Monaco. Her current goal is to show the many treasures contained in the museum which are not open to the public, as well as continue to search for hidden treasures in local land and caves. Recently, the director and her team found ancient human remains in a cave under the gardens of Saint-Martin, including a skull which, thanks to new technology, will soon have a face.
Orlan is a contemporary French artist known for the radical act of changing her appearance with plastic surgery in the name of art, using her face and body as malleable tools for shifting identities. The artist has worked with a French robotics company to create a robot in her image: ORLANoïde.
The awards were Created by Cinzia Sgambati-Colman and the awards were presented by Prince Albert II.
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