Real estate sales and prices were down in 2020, not a huge surprise in a year that saw nearly every sector of the economy hit by Covid. But it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, with Monaco’s property market still amongst the strongest around.

The property market is driven by deliveries and product and, according to the latest report by IMSEE, 2020 saw the delivery of only 26 new apartments in the Principality.

Echoing trends in 2019, “off-plan” sales represented the majority of transactions representing 75%, but the number of sales remained much lower than that observed over the previous five years.

The real estate resale market also trended down compared to the two previous years. In all, the cumulative transactions last year of both new properties and resale ones was down by 22.3%, levels roughly the same as in 2017.

In hard numbers, this means there were 395 resales in 2020 valued at €1.954 million and only 16 new apartments sold equalling €218 million in sales.

The decrease in the number of transactions is more evident in small apartments. In 2019, studios and one-bedroom properties accounted for two-thirds of all transactions in volume. In 2020, that number dropped to one-third.

Meanwhile, less studios and two rooms were sold last year, but an increase in three-room sales put the overall figure at -32%, a smaller drop than the number of sales in 2020 which were down by 52%.

The average price per square metre also decreased, but only slightly at -1.1%, bringing the average to €47,619 euros. However, this average price has increased by 52.3% in the past 10 years.

The Larvotto area’s average price per square metre is again slightly higher than in other districts. La Condamine saw a -9.3% drop in prices, putting it at under €50,000 per square metre, whilst Monte-Carlo and Fontvieille remain above that water mark. But the biggest jump is Moneghetti, which has seen a massive 115% rise in prices over the past 10 years.

 
Photo by Cassandra Tanti for Monaco Life