The Monaco marketplace during the global lockdown

We are being asked regularly to comment on the Monaco marketplace and how it will be affected by global lockdown and the economic chaos that will undoubtedly ensue. Predicting what will happen really is crystal ball territory but our general thoughts on Monaco remain pretty positive. There is still demand from the outside world ( see reference to leads above) and Monaco’s reaction to crisis has traditionally been pretty sanguine: whilst this crisis is more far reaching than the 2008/9 banking crisis for sure, the Monaco market at that time did not crumble though there was a marked decline in the number of transactions which took place. Prices stagnated too but did not plummet and we think that the market was probably ready for a price correction anyway.

Leaving figures aside too, we are convinced that Monaco’s reputation as being a “safe” haven, in all the senses of the word “safe”, will resonate significantly post the crisis: the atmosphere in the streets here is pleasant; people are respecting lockdown; the Monaco police are cordially enforcing the social distancing rules and the yachts in the harbour bellow out their support for hospital and other core workers at 8pm sharp each evening.

One positive we are also seeing is a renewed interest in renting or purchasing second homes in neighbouring France as people who have lived in apartments for some time, look at nearby escape hatches to enjoy once this lockdown is over. We work with Savills Riviera all along the coast and there has been a rise in enquiries for houses with pools and gardens.

Looking more globally at the property market, our Savills Research team in London have been crunching the numbers. In less than a month, the property market disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has reached almost every corner of the globe. Here we provide a snapshot of current market conditions across all sectors based on the Savills Research  survey of 24 global markets.

You can find more via our Covid-19 Resource Hub.

• Transaction activity is falling in most sectors globally with the sharpest falls reported in retail and hotels.
• Capital values are lagging behind transactional activity, with 51% of countries/sectors reporting capital values to be unchanged.
• Rents still remain largely unimpacted, just over half of countries/sectors reporting them to be unchanged.
• Terms for occupiers are currently favourable, particularly in the case of retail. At a sector level, healthcare, logistics and to a lesser extent institutional residential are currently most resilient across occupier demand and investment activity.

At a sector level, healthcare, logistics and to a lesser extent institutional residential are currently most resilient across occupier demand and investment activity. ln times like these transactional volumes will be affected until there is clarity on virus restriction exit strategies.

But in the meantime, the sun continues to shine, Easter is upon us and the Monaco food market is still- somewhat miraculously- open for business.