Real estate in Monaco is Highest Priced in the World
Real estate in Monaco has always been expensive, but a recent report by Knight Frank confirmed it as the most expensive in the world.
I recently wrote about the differences between Dubai and Monaco. Both are great places to live for those of us who dislike paying taxes. Both offer zero personal income taxes. But, according to Knight Frank, real estate in Monaco is more than 6 times more expensive than real estate in Dubai. Statista recently compiled data from Knight Frank about what you can get for $1m in cities around the world.
Even Billionaires Have to Rent
Monaco came out with the most expensive real estate in the world. You’ll only be able to buy 17 square metres in Monaco compared to 105 square metres in Dubai. Of course Monaco is much smaller than Dubai and supply is severely limited in Monaco. Most residents of Monaco rent their homes as the market’s dominated by a few big landlords such as Groupe Pastor. There’s no more land for development in Monaco and property owners aren’t selling. Demand is constant as it’s the only pure tax haven in Europe. Even billionaires are forced to rent properties and pay huge refurbishment costs for real estate that they’ll never own.
Dubai, on the other hand, is a developing city. There are a constant stream of new developments. Not only will you find Dubai real estate cheaper than real estate in Monaco, you’ll get a nicer and more modern place too. Many Monaco apartments were built in the sixties and seventies and could do with some remodelling.
Other Tax Friendly Countries are Cheaper
Other tax friendly countries also came out cheaper than real estate in Monaco. Not by much in the case of Hong Kong, where you’ll only get 21 square metres for $1m. In Singapore you get exactly double the space you’d get in Monaco at 34 square metres. Geneva, Switzerland came in at 37 square metres for $1m which was still slightly more than you’d get in London or New York.
| City | Square Metres | Square Feet |
| Monaco | 17 | 183 |
| Hong Kong | 21 | 226 |
| New York | 33 | 355 |
| London | 34 | 365 |
| Singapore | 34 | 365 |
| Geneva | 37 | 398 |
| Los Angeles | 39 | 419 |
| Paris | 43 | 463 |
| Shanghai | 44 | 473 |
| Sydney | 44 | 473 |
| Beijing | 58 | 624 |
| Tokyo | 60 | 645 |
| Miami | 64 | 688 |
| Berlin | 70 | 753 |
| Melbourne | 87 | 936 |
| Dubai | 105 | 1130 |
| Madrid | 106 | 1140 |
| Mumbai | 113 | 1216 |
| Cape Town | 218 | 2346 |
| Sao Paulo | 231 | 2486 |
Conclusion
As I’ve often said Monaco is a great place to live and the only real tax haven remaining in Europe. It has many benefits and a few disadvantages. You do have to wonder, though, if it’s worth spending 6 times more on real estate there than in Dubai. Monaco’s real estate market is highly artificial due to the lack of supply. Many other cities can be structured for a tax free life for those not insistent on a pure tax haven. Monaco will no doubt continue to flourish but many of Europe’s wealthy in search of more tax friendly countries are heading towards Dubai and Singapore.
