Monaco real estate 2024 trends and predictions

Monaco Tribune shares an exclusive interview with Benoit Martin, Sales Director at the Monaco real estate agency of La Costa Properties Monaco since 2021.

La Costa Properties Monaco, 40 years in the field

La Costa Properties Monaco was created by Luciana Gaia Lebon and remains a family-run business. Situated in the prestigious Carré d’Or district, the Monaco real estate agency’s 15 staff deal with property management, rentals and transactions. As one of Monaco’s leading real estate agencies, La Costa Properties Monaco boasts an enviable portfolio of Monaco property for sale and rent. 

Its early clientele was primarily Italian and from other European countries, but has since expanded beyond Europe’s borders. The young sales force is growing, handpicked to cover the spread of clientele in terms of language and country of origin, providing both property and legal advice. 

Key takeaways from 2023:

“It ended better than it started!” says Benoit of the Monaco real estate agency’s year. “Many projects that started out in the first half of the year didn’t complete until the second half,” he adds.  

A general observation is that sales take longer than previously. 

“There’s a whole administrative side that is much slower now,” Benoit explains, “especially for the British.” 

Since Brexit, British nationals must now go through the French embassy to obtain a resident’s permit for France before they can apply for Monegasque papers. 

“It used to take them a month from start to finish to get their residency permit. Now it can take 3 to 4,” Benoit states. 

Benoit also has another explanation, “Yes, this is Monaco, and generally speaking, our clients have the means to finance their acquisitions; however, some may need to apply for a mortgage, and this is taking longer too.”  

Having spoken to a number of banks, and to industry colleagues, Benoit notes that it is an industry-wide phenomenon.

This, along with more expensive lending rates, could explain the sharp rise in demand for rental properties, which in turn has driven up rents. Transaction prices, on the other hand, have been flat, or even slightly lower at the very high-end and in the new-build sectors of the market. 

For the Monaco real estate agency, the two market sectors seem to have balanced each other out, with 2023 neither a ‘bad vintage’ nor a ‘Grand Cru’, but a “palatable” one.

Current Monaco real estate market trends

According to Benoit, at the moment, people appear to be looking for larger properties, with two or three bedrooms, or large studios and one beds for single people. 

“It is mostly families that are arriving or people who plan on living in Monaco year-round and who, therefore, need space. And demand is out-stripping supply,” Benoit…