Long allowed to operate within a highly advantageous tax framework, property dealers have played a major role in driving prices up in the Principality. By purchasing, carrying out minimal renovations, and reselling with substantial capital gains, some made speculation their business model. The law passed in July 2024 has changed the dynamics: reduced benefits, reinforced obligations, and tighter regulation. One year on, the market appears to be regaining balance.
They gradually became the « bêtes noires » of the real-estate market… For many years, the number of property dealers skyrocketed in Monaco. More than 300 licences were issued in this already highly competitive micro-market. Beyond their sheer number, their practices also sparked criticism. Many dealers engaged in purely speculative operations. Their method (at least for the less professional and less conscientious): purchase a property, carry out minimal works—often simple cosmetic refreshes—then resell it sometimes 25 to 30% higher. These practices created an artificial rise in prices and froze part of the market, with certain properties remaining listed for years while waiting for a buyer willing to pay the inflated price.
Their preferential tax regime was also widely criticised. Exempt from transfer duties and often from VAT on margins, property dealers benefited for years from a favourable treatment perceived as unfair by other industry players and costly for public finances. Added to this was their limited local economic impact: many used foreign contractors for renovations, depriving Monegasque companies—and the State—of potential economic benefits. In short, after years of inaction and abuses, the government finally stepped in.
A law that puts an end to abuses
A law that came into force in July 2024 introduced a tighter regulatory framework for the profession (1). What exactly has changed for them? Their highly advantageous tax regime (notably the complete exemption from registration duties) has now been revised. The new law reduces this benefit by 50% and subjects it to several conditions: properties must be resold within three years and upgraded to meet technical and energy standards before resale. The text also introduces additional obligations, such as providing a financial guarantee with a Monegasque bank and taking out professional liability insurance, among other measures.
More than a year later, has this law impacted the property market? Has the number of property dealers fallen significantly? According to the Chambre Immobilière Monégasque, precise quantitative data is not yet available to measure the scale of the decline, but everything suggests “that it is significant, based on the information we have.” One thing is certain, the organisation notes: this reform has helped clean up a sector previously marked by a real lack of professionalism. “Serious players are still present— and surely welcome the implementation of this law,” the Chamber adds.
“The golden age is not over, but it has clearly slowed”
What do real-estate agents think? “I don’t know if it’s directly linked to the law—probably—but we are indeed seeing a slowdown in the activity of property traders. This profession mainly seeks secure operations, in landmark buildings where resale is guaranteed, but those properties have now become extremely expensive,” observes Eugenia Petrini, Director of Petrini Exclusive Real Estate Monaco. “Prices have risen so much that it’s becoming difficult for them to find interesting opportunities. As a result, their margins are shrinking and some are having more difficulty than before. The golden age of property traders isn’t over, but it has clearly slowed.”
Florian Valeri, Managing Director of BARNES Valeri Agency, confirms “a sharp decline” in this activity because “today, the incentive to maintain this status is far more limited, and many players who carried out such operations occasionally have stopped altogether,” he says. “Some have not yet dissolved their companies because they still need to finalise the sale of one or more properties purchased under this status, but overall, new purchase offers under the property-trader regime have dropped significantly for more than a year now.”
“Cleaning up the profession”
Éric Cancemi, negotiator at Miells Christie’s, also observes that these operators are beginning to withdraw from the market because they no longer see the same benefits as before. “The new rules have reduced certain tax advantages and increased administrative constraints. For some, the activity becomes less profitable. So the reform has the merit of restoring order and cleaning up the profession. When a sector becomes overrepresented, it ends up harming everyone,” he says. According to the professionals interviewed, this new regime also helps curb the speculation that had intensified in recent years and was distorting the market. “Furthermore, it must be said that for real-estate agencies, this is also a positive point: our fees are better preserved,” adds Florian Valeri. “Property traders, when they could, did not hesitate to bypass agencies to avoid paying commissions. That is no longer the case, and it contributes to greater stability in the sector.”
(1) Law No. 1.560 of 2 July 2024 concerning the regulation of property-trading activity.
