Yacht Show Brings Monaco Anticipation

The annual yacht show in Monaco always guarantees Europe’ssecond smallest country’s hotels are full, and this year will beno exception.The show has grown in popularity over the fifteen years since itbegan, and this year will see Monaco’s Port Hercules play hostto over ninety of the world’s finest yachts and five hundred ofthe world’s best yachting companies.The luxury yachting market has tripled in the last eight years,and helped along by orders from Russia’s ‘nouveau riche’, theindustry has seen an increase in orders of over a quarter in thelast year alone.But while luxury and Monaco are often associated, poor sales anda possible drop in property prices haven’t been seen in thePrinicpality’s real estate sector for over a decade.Monaco Real EstateIn contrast to the highly successful Yacht Show, property salesin Monaco have been unusually slow in 2005. Although only asquare mile in size there are over a hundred estate agenciesbattling for buyers to choose their services, and at times itseems that every third or fourth retail unit has beencommandeered by a property company in Monte Carlo, the bestknown and most sought after area of Monaco.According to Monte Carlo property specialist Henri Boulangersome estate agents are being squeezed, and are viewing the yachtshow as the last opportunity to turn a dismal year into a goodone.‘The yacht show attracts a wealthy clientele in considerablenumbers, and the type of person who might be buying a luxuryyacht might well be thinking about buying a property in Mon...

...acoas well.While it wouldn’t be etiquette to actively pursue buyers, manyestate agents in Monaco are desperately hoping to see theirdoors open and for one or two potential buyers to call intotheir offices.With good two bedroom apartments starting at over a millionEuros, and penthouses with Mediterranean views often over fivemillion and some of them over ten million, it can take just onesale to turn a bad year into a good one.’Monaco’s property price inflation has often risen by over tenper cent a year in the last decade, but a combination of eventshave conspired this year with a possible stagnation in pricesfor 2005, and potentially even a fall.The passing earlier this year of the popular Prince Rainier,Europe’s longest reigning monarch, cast a cloud over the areawhich it is just emerging from, but economic factors have alsoplayed a significant role in the downturn of the real estatemarket.‘The strength of the Euro against the American dollar has ledmany of our potential buyers from the US to delay their viewingvisit from this year to next, and earlier this year anothersource of important buyers from the UK held back until after theelection to see what the outcome would be’, explains Henri,adding ‘and now with the uncertainty of the economy after therecent tragedy of Hurricane Katrina it is quite possible thatsome US buyers will delay their visit even more, or possibly tocancel buying in Monaco altogether’.Monaco Grand PrixNo surprise then that while the tourists will be in Monaco inthe same and pos...

...sibly increased numbers than last year, theprospect of several dozen potential property buyers descendingupon Monaco and staying in her best hotels over a few days isseen as an opportunity not to be missed by the realtors.But what is surprising perhaps is that the Yacht Show is viewedas a better opportunity than the Monaco Grand Prix for herrealtors.‘The Grand Prix attracts tens of thousands of people to Monacoevery May’, explains Henri, ‘And every April we get a lot of newenquiries for property in Monaco, with the buyers asking to viewapartments in Monte Carlo with views of the race circuit duringthe Monaco Grand Prix weekend. But what they don’t realise isthat many of the apartments for sale have been rented out forthe weekend, and viewing is impossible. Even if an apartment hasn’t been rented out for corporatehospitality it would take all day to get from one apartment toanother. The Grand Prix is a great tourist event for Monaco, andsome of the estate agents go away for a few days. They won’t bedoing that during the Yacht Show!’ The fifteenth annual Monaco Yacht Show is being held this yearfrom September 21 to 24. Full details can be found at www.monacoyachtshow.com and Monaco hotel details http://www.yourmonaco.com/hotels For a guide including a Monaco map, Monaco weather, directcontact details for hotels in Monaco including the Hotel deParis and Columbus hotels and the Monaco Grand Prix can be foundat yourmonaco.comDetails of Monaco Real Estate can be sent upon request at www.monacoproperty.net