Despite the upheavals of 2020 that rocked markets worldwide, Monaco still remains a highly desirable location.
The Monégasque market remains the most expensive location to purchase residential property worldwide, with an average price per square metre of over €47,000, though that figure is down 1.1% from 2019 levels. Hong Kong, the second most expensive location across the globe, saw average prices per square metre fall 3.9% to €39,600 in 2020.
There was a slightly steeper decline in transaction numbers in 2020, down 11% compared to 2019, though this does vary by property size. Large properties including four bedroom-plus apartments and villas saw the steepest falls in transactions, down 38% and 53% respectively. Travel restrictions worldwide have made property purchases by foreigners more difficult, turning Monaco into a primarily domestic market in 2020 and keeping most foreign buyers from making the big-ticket purchases in Monaco that they’re so known for.
This trend can also be seen when examining transactions by price point. Properties priced below €5 million was the most active price point in the Principality, with transactions down only 6%, compared to falls of 39% for properties priced over €10 million. Transactions for properties less than €5 million account for 71% of the total sales in the Principality, so softer declines at this price point result in less steep declines for Monaco overall.
Price changes in the Principality were more consistent across the property sizes. The falls in transactions at higher price points didn’t translate to equally lower prices, showing that buyers who did purchase were still willing to pay pre-pandemic prices. The slight decline in prices in 2020 of 1.1% is not enough to derail the upward trajectory of prices in Monaco, which have grown over 50% in the last decade.
Prime capital values and prime monthly rents per sqm (ranked by capital values)
| Location | Prime Capital Values € per sqm | Prime monthly rents € per sqm |
| Monaco | € 47,600 | € 89.00 |
| Hong Kong | € 39,600 | € 60.00 |
| New York | € 22,200 | € 66.00 |
| Tokyo | € 20,400 | € 50.00 |
| Geneva | € 19,100 | n/a |
| Shanghai | € 17,400 | € 50.00 |
| London | € 17,000 | € 34.00 |
| Sydney | € 15,900 | € 20.00 |
| Paris | € 15,600 | € 37.00 |
| Seoul | € 15,600 | € 32.00 |
| Shenzhen | € 14,500 | € 19.00 |
| Beijing | € 13,900 | € 18.00 |
| San Francisco | € 13,700 | € 27.00 |
| Singapore | € 13,600 | € 25.00 |