28 ° C
Profile

Tag: monacolife

Monaco Real Estate: A resilient market returns to near record-breaking levels

by: Elsa Carpenter
29/01/2023

In Part II of Monaco Life’s Real Estate Report for 2022, we look at the strength of the market in the post-Covid era as well as where the best price-per-square-metre deals can be found.

Residential property covers almost two thirds of developed land in Monaco’s 2.1km² and a considerable 43% of that is concentrated in the Monte-Carlo and La Rousse neighbourhoods. So it’s no surprise that the majority of resale and previously owned property sales – the focus of Part II of this report – took place in these two quartiers.  

According to the latest figures by IMSEE, of the 432 transactions recorded during the last 12 months, 158 were signed for property in the famous central Monte-Carlo district, the home of Monaco’s iconic Carré d’Or, and a further 118 in La Rousse, the slice of land located just above the seaside Larvotto neighbourhood. Monaco-Ville, better known to most as Le Rocher or the Rock, and Larvotto both recorded the lowest number of sales, with 16 and five apiece.  

Near-record breaking year

Overall, sales came close to toppling the 2019 record of €2.48 billion, coming in at €2.35 billion. This is a 12.1% progression on the 2021 figures, demonstrating a return to the trends of pre-Covid years. Profits made in Monte-Carlo alone neared the €1 billion mark at €930.6 million, a more than 20% increase on the previous year.  

In the past decade, real estate sales in the Principality have increased by almost 100% and the average price has climbed 80.7%. Now is sits at €5.4 million, closing in on the lofty levels set in the industry’s benchmark year of 2019.

Monaco is attracting families

As discussed on Monaco Life’s latest ‘This Week in Monaco’ podcast, the Principality is trying to build its attractiveness to families and it’s a strategy that appears to be working.

In the four-bedroom and over category, 43 properties were sold, including nine villas. Their combined sales reached €730 million. Villas are in high demand and despite the numbers being similar in 2021, when seven such homes were sold, the prices that were fetched last year more than doubled on those of the previous period.  

Monaco’s price-per-square-metre continues to hover around €51,000, but in the four-bedroom+  segment, the price-per-square-metre now exceeds €55,000. Larvotto, where sea views and space come at a premium, was the most expensive district for this marker, with the price-per-square-metre reaching €62,351. The lowest in this range is in the Jardin Exotique, where the average property sells for just under €35,000 per-square-metre. 

 

READ MORE: 

Monaco Real Estate: New build sales top €1 billion for first time ever

  

Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

  

Photo by Monaco Life

Prince Albert appoints new head of EU negotations

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/01/2023

Isabelle Costa, currently an advisor in the Prince’s cabinet, has been appointed High Commissioner for European Affairs. She will oversee negotiations between the Principality and the European Union.  

Since 18th March 2015, Monaco has been officially engaged in negotiations with the European Union (EU) that aim to reach an equitable agreement allowing Monaco to participate as fully as possible in the EU’s internal market whilst ensuring respect for the Principality’s vital and separate interests.  

The person now in charge of these talks for the Principality is the new High Commissioner for European Affairs, Isabelle Costa, under the direct authority of Minister of State Pierre Dartout. Her job will be, in addition to dialogues with the EU, to oversee diplomatic services.  

She will step into the role previously held by Gilles Tonelli.

Isabelle Costa has been appointed High Commissioner for European Affairs in Monaco. Photo source: LinkedIn

A graduate of Sciences Po Aix, the College of Europe and the National School of Administration, Costa has held various positions in the Monegasque diplomatic corps, followed by a stint at the General Inspectorate of Administration, before being appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Government in charge of the Europe Cell in 2016. 

Monaco’s affiliation with the EU is marked by common values, such as basic human rights, the rule of law and environmental concerns, but no formal agreement is in place securing the roles each side plays with the other.   

In June 2022, the Council of the European Union, under France’s presidency, noted that the negotiations were set to enter into a decisive phase, and said that it was looking forward to further substantial progress, including on politically sensitive issues. Costa will be instrumental in these discussions bearing fruit.  

  

Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

  

Photo source: Monaco Life

 

Roca Team prevail in offensive festival against Milan

by: Luke Entwistle
27/01/2023

A defensively porous but offensively spectacular AS Monaco Basketball beat Euroleague’s bottom side Milan (101-88) on Thursday to keep pace with the leaders and bounce back following consecutive European defeats.  

Against his former side, James ran proceedings in the opening phases, registering an unreplied eight-point streak to give Monaco an early lead. Whilst the Roca Team were nearly in full flow offensively, they lacked the same intensity in defence, and couldn’t stop bleeding points, allowing ample room for Milan to cause harm from outside the key, which they duly did. 

Elie Okobo’s playmaking and shooting efficiency kept the scoreboard ticking, as every player that entered onto the court contributed, including debutant Chima Moneke, who took just seconds to make his mark with a T2 while attracting the foul. 

By half-time, both sides had pierced the 50-point mark, and a mammoth scoreline was set to be recorded. Attacks continued to reign in the second-half, with Milan quickly erasing Monaco’s seven-point half-time lead, restoring parity midway through the third quarter (70-70). 

However, the Roca Team then hit the accelerator once more. James kicked things off with a T3, which lifted the crowd. Donta Hall and Okobo, who was impressive throughout, then combined; the former finishing with one of his signature dunks. Alpha Diallo then hit on the break to begin to take the game away from the Italian side (80-72). 

Photo by Monaco Life

The American then struck early in the final quarter with another T3 to deflate a Milan side that were starting to feel their way back into the game. The Roca Team finally found their defensive bite in the final quarter and began to make the decisive break, Jordan Loyd registering a T3 that killed the game as a contest (90-78). 

As both sides tired, the efficiency and intensity notably dropped, and whilst the Roca Team didn’t make the 114-points that they were on course to reach at half-time, they did nonetheless breach the 100-point mark. Against the Euroleague’s bottom side, Sasa Obradovic’s men were run closer than perhaps they expected, but the result was ultimately secured (101-88). 

Post-match Sasa Obradovic said that he was happy to have provided a spectacle for the fans.

“Everyone who came here enjoyed the basketball, this is what they wanted to see,” he told Monaco Life, continuing, “Everyone contributed. I’m satisfied with all the players that played. It was a collective win. Milan haven’t played well recently, but that wasn’t the case tonight. They scored lots of hard shots, but we found a way to control the game, especially in the fourth quarter. It is always good to protect the home court.”

 

Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Main photo by AS Monaco Basket

List of French strikers grows as port and power workers called to picket

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/01/2023

The CGT trade union and Sud Rail are the latest to call on their workers to take to the streets next week for the nationwide strikes against pension reforms. 

Those participating in the planned strikes set for 31st January and spilling into 1st February is growing. CGT, the union covering port, power, refinery and petrol distribution workers, has joined the roster as have Sud Rail, a railway workers union.  

The inclusion of these two powerful unions could see the country grind to a halt next Tuesday and Wednesday, with possible strike actions continuing into next month.  

“Our federations are asking railway workers to strike en masse on 31st January, and to hold a meeting on 31st January to decide whether to intensify their action through two consecutive days of strikes on 7th and 8th February,” the two unions said in a joint statement.  

The potential disruptions caused by striking fuel distributors has people racing to the pumps, reminiscent of last October when protests prompted petrol shortages and cuts all over France.  

Authorities are asking people not to worry as the short duration is unlikely to cause the same kind of widespread disruption as last autumn, but they do warn electricity production may suffer intermittently. 

CGT says an oil distribution depot in northern France is already shut down, with 80% of workers ready to march. According to trade union sources, oil imports are being obstructed in some French ports.  

The port strikes are scheduled to last 24 hours.  

In addition to the sectors named above, schools, transport and civil service operations are also thought to be involved, with the result being an almost total shut down of normal life.  

The pension reform legislation, which will be presented to parliament on Monday, includes passages that would end special pension rights of certain workers, including those in the electricity generation field. Other points of contention include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.  

 

READ MORE:

Get ready: French unions plan widespread protests over pension reform

Further pension reform strikes planned for 31st January

 

Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

  

Photo source: Unsplash

Monaco Life’s ‘Best Of’: Top Places to Buy Champagne

by: Elsa Carpenter
26/01/2023

With the end of Dry January on the horizon, Monaco Life checks out the best places to buy – and enjoy – champagne in the Principality. 

We start with a boutique beloved by locals for its warmth and amiable owner: the Caves & Gourmandises run by Franco Tibs. Located just a stone’s throw from the port at 25 Boulevard Albert Ier, this wine store sells all the greats of the champagne world – Dom Pérignon, Taittinger, Ruinart, Cristal and Pierre-Jouët to name but a few – alongside some more characterful limited editions, such as its Bollinger La Grande Année 2009 Edition Spéciale “007” and the Noblesse Oblige from Comte de Monte-Carlo.  

Heading west and we come to Dionysos Wines (4 Rue Princesse Caroline), a cave that prides itself on tradition and an intimate level of service. Here you’ll find professionals dedicated not only to a prestigious selection of champagnes and fine wines, but also to sharing their personal knowledge on everything from smart investments to proper wine storage. You can also sample before you purchase in Dionysos’ climate-controlled tasting room. 

A little further down the street is Supernature, a creative restaurant and wine store. Here, the words “organic” and “natural” are the focus, and owner Stephen Roberts has curated an inspired selection of more than 350 vins biologiques – including a range of noteworthy champagnes – from France, Italy and around the world. Born into a vineyard-owning family in Ramatuelle, the Fondugues Pradugues estate, that specialises in organic wine, Roberts is certainly the right person to go to if you’re keen to learn more about the art of natural wine-making. This is also a great place for locally-sourced and seasonable food, with Supernature’s kitchen drawing on the wealth of organic produce sold at the Condamine market just up the road.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by supernature (@supernaturemc)

Continuing on to a place that is quite literally the flagship for connoisseurs and lovers of wine in the Principality, thanks to its unique location within the hull of the Yacht Club de Monaco, we come to Wine Palace Monte-Carlo. This address counts more than 2,300 fine wines and, of course, champagnes within its cellar, drawing on “authenticity, rarity and global reputation” as the guides for its selection.  

“The Wine Palace has a superb collection of vintage and non-vintage champagnes, plus a beautiful setting in which to taste them, looking out over the Port of Monaco,” says Jessica Dunnett, the co-owner of Onshore Cellars, a French Riviera-based wine merchant who specialises in international fine wines. “But for me, the crème de la crème has to be the legendary cellars of the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. It has the biggest wine cellar in the world – about 35,000 bottles – a large percentage being vintage champagne, including the Moët & Chandon 1923. If you want to try before you buy, I’d recommend booking a table at Alain Ducasse’s three Michelin star Le Louis XV for the best selection from this cellar.” 

 

Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

Photo source: Camille Dufosse/Wine Palace

Villefranche launches major underwater clean-up operation

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/01/2023

The seafloor of Villefranche bay is to be cleared of rubbish and debris as the coastal town establishes an innovative system of anchorage for the hundreds of yachts that visit each year.  

In summertime, Villefranche’s bay is a mecca for boats of all shapes and sizes. Its 300-metre depth and 2.5-kilometre width make it an ideal stopping off point for sailors looking for a nice place to moor, swim, dive or otherwise enjoy the sea.  

Winter is a bit quieter, but the bay is still buzzing with activity as the third annual tidy-up sponsored by the French State Services Department gets underway. At the same time, the town is embarking on another project, that of reorganising and refurbishing two anchorage and Light Equipment Zones. 

These zones, called ZMEL locally, are permanent anchoring systems affixed to the sea bed, with a chain attached to a buoy and a ring to mark the locations. They are highly regulated and Villefranche has two with 30 floating berths apiece: one in the Marinières sector and the other opposite the Darse. They have been operational since 2022. 

The ZMEL have been a point of contention for some day trippers, who resent having to pay to moor, but the point of them is not to annoy. Instead, it is to prevent passing boaters from randomly dropping anchor onto the bottom of the bay and damaging its fragile ecosystem.  

A quarter of the buoys must be available at all times for passing pleasure boats, and to maintain them properly doesn’t come cheap, with this year’s price tag reaching €140,000. 

“The operation is financed within the framework of the maritime intervention fund managed by the Secretary of State for the Sea,” says Mathieu Eyrard, the deputy director of the Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM). “The idea is to continue the clean-up and to support the municipalities in the establishment of mooring and light equipment, but as it is expensive, we spread these operations over several years,”  

To get the necessary upgrades, the sea floor must be cleaned of detritus, including old wrecks, concrete slabs and old bits of chains, motors or plastic hulls which, over time, disintegrate into micro-waste that is toxic to the environment. 

Professional divers have been brought in to help, with 15 boats targeted for now and others’ locations already identified for the future. 

  

Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

  

Photo source: Leighton Smith for Unsplash