Bigger Hulls, Bigger Homes: What a €4 Billion Superyacht Market Says About Monaco

This week, more than a hundred superyachts are moored in Port Hercule for the Monaco Yacht Show. On the quays, conversation keeps returning to one number. Superyacht sales in 2026 reached €4.05 billion in the first half alone, according to BOATPro data reported by Monaco Life.

For Baldo Realty Group, the figure matters well beyond the marina. In Monaco, the buyer of a 60-metre yacht and the buyer of a harbour-view penthouse are frequently the same family. The two markets now tell a remarkably similar story. Ready assets are scarcer, tickets are larger, and buyers move decisively when the right one appears.

Superyacht Sales 2026: The Numbers Behind a Three-Year High

BOATPro, the market intelligence platform of BOAT International, tracks more than 13,000 superyachts worldwide. Its data show that 281 yachts of 24 metres and above were sold between January and June. That breaks down into 129 deals in the first quarter and 152 in the second. That compares with 272 sales over the same period in 2025 and 225 in 2024.

Value rose much faster than volume. The total climbed from €2.21 billion in the first half of 2024 to €3.61 billion a year later, then to €4.05 billion. In other words, transactions grew by about 3% while value grew by about 12%. The average asking value of a yacht sold reached €14.4 million, compared with €13.28 million in 2025 and €9.83 million in 2024. BOAT International described the result as a three-year high, achieved despite global conflict.

One caveat matters. These figures are based on each yacht’s last-known asking price, because final transaction prices are generally confidential. A separate dataset from brokerage house Northrop & Johnson points the same way. Measured in dollars and on its own criteria, it shows first-half sales value up 15% year on year.

Why Buyers Are Moving Up in Size

Most of the growth came from bigger yachts. Sales between 50 and 70 metres rose by 52.9%, from 17 transactions to 26. The 40-to-50-metre category grew by 10%, while sales between 30 and 40 metres fell by 6%.

Smaller yachts still account for the largest number of deals. However, BOATPro reads the data as a growing preference for larger vessels. It also notes that limited availability among smaller yachts may have shaped the result. For buyers, the practical lesson is clear. The segment with the most momentum is also the one where good inventory disappears fastest.

Buyer behaviour has shifted too. Speaking at the show to Superyachts.com, broker Chris Cecil Wright observed that clients now arrive far better informed than they once did. With new-build timelines stretching, the old debate between buying now and building later has tilted towards yachts that are ready today.

Moonrise and the Top of the Market

The largest brokerage deal of the half was the 100-metre Feadship Moonrise, listed with Burgess in January. She sold shortly before the end of June at an asking price of €325 million. She had spent less than six months on the market. On its own, that single sale represents roughly 8% of the half-year total.

Other headline transactions confirm the pattern. The 89-metre Amels Mirage, formerly Here Comes the Sun, sold with an estimated asking value of €165 million. The 66.3-metre Hampshire was listed at €85 million, and the 61-metre Jubilee at €73.5 million.

The Order Book Squeeze

New construction explains much of the pressure on the brokerage market. BOAT International’s Global Order Book shows the order book contracting in unit count for a second consecutive year. At the same time, average length and tonnage under construction stand at record highs. Build slots at leading yards are committed through 2028 and 2029.

The consequence is scarcity at the front of the queue. Toby Moore heads Informa Prestige, which organises the show. In his words, a new commission at a leading shipyard now means “waiting until 2028 or beyond.” That makes yachts delivering this year some of the scarcest commodities in the market, according to the show’s fleet report. Italy’s weight in this picture is striking, with Italian builders accounting for 52% of global superyacht production by projects ordered or under construction.

Port Hercule as a Trading Floor

The Monaco Yacht Show turns that scarcity into a marketplace. The 35th edition brings around 120 yachts to Port Hercule, including 43 delivering this year. In BOATPro’s preliminary fleet report, 71 of the 116 yachts examined were listed for sale.

The range is wide. At the top sits Oceanco’s 111-metre Leviathan, the largest yacht in the fleet. Lürssen’s Nixie follows as the largest new delivery on show, according to Elite Traveler. The brokerage fleet, meanwhile, averages close to 49 metres, with an average launch year of 2016. For the organisers, the show is where the existing fleet changes hands, as much as where the next one is sold.

The Same Pattern on Land

Monaco’s property market offers a striking mirror. According to the Real Estate Observatory published by IMSEE, the Principality’s statistics institute, resales rose to 429 transactions in 2025, up 17.5%. Their total value, however, jumped by almost 50% to €3.2 billion, crossing the €3 billion mark for the first time.

The average resale price reached a record €7.6 million, up 26.8%. Meanwhile, 22 resales exceeded €20 million, the highest number since the observatory began. At the other end of the scale, resales below €5 million have declined every year since 2014, falling by 32.8% over ten years. Our analysis of the 2025 Monaco property market examines these figures district by district.

New-build supply tells the other half of the story. As Monaco Life reported, sales of brand-new homes fell from 101 in 2024 to 64 in 2025. Yet the combined value of all transactions held at €5.9 billion, matching the previous record. The estimated price per square metre stood at €57,569, a slight 1.4% dip after the 2024 surge, while Larvotto passed €71,000.

Two Markets, One Pattern

The methodologies differ, since IMSEE records registered transactions while yacht data rely on asking prices. Even so, the direction is the same in both markets. Value is growing faster than volume, and the most desirable assets are the hardest to find.

What It Means for Buyers in Monaco

For families who own, or plan to own, both a yacht and a home in the Principality, three practical conclusions follow.

First, ready assets command a premium, and they move quickly. A delivered yacht saves years against a new build. A finished apartment in a prime building does the same against an off-plan purchase. Our study of how fast prime Monaco properties sell shows the same dynamic on land.

Second, the berth and the home belong in the same plan. A 60-metre yacht needs somewhere to return to. In Monaco, a permanent berth is the scarcest asset of all, as we explore in The Berth You Cannot Buy. Buyers moving up in size should consider mooring and residence together.

Finally, scarcity rewards preparation. With limited new supply ahead, the best Monaco residences often trade before they are ever advertised, much like the best yachts. Buyers who have completed their due diligence and financing in advance are the ones who secure them.