International real estate consultancy Knight Frank has named Monaco as one of four global cities that is likely to see price growth in prime residential properties during 2020, rather than the decline expected in most other cities. The other three likely to fare relatively well are Lisbon, Vienna and Shanghai.

“There were positive signs in several markets globally that prime prices would rise throughout 2020 but unsurprisingly COVID-19 has put a halt to that,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank which has just published its Prime Global Cities Index Q1 2020.

“Of the 20 cities Knight Frank has analysed, 16 of these will see prime price declines in 2020, with only a handful avoiding a fall into negative territory – either because of historic supply shortages or because transactions were able to continue during lockdown and these measures are already being eased,” Bailey added. Prices in Mumbai are limey to fall by five percent, the report said.

Knight Frank has not put a figure on the likely increase in Monaco real estate prices over the rest of the year, but local agents have confirmed the view that the Principality is unlikely to see a fall. Caroline Olds, of Caroline Olds Real Estate, told Monaco Daily News: “It  would be unusual to see a significant impact on Monaco property prices, maybe a small number of keen sellers, but I don’t see a major impact.”