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Turin tries the relaunch
09 November, Il Sole 24 Ore
After a series of major upgrades, the city seeks a new identity
New luxury stores, entire streets dedicated to food, crowds of tourists walking around the city and investments on apartments for rental.
The new vocation of Turin as a touristic city, as well as a real estate destination for big investors, goes through an urban transformation that, between 1995 and 2015, redeveloped five million Sq m of an industrial area, turning it into new residential, commercial and office/services spaces. Not only. The subway (line 1 and line 2 coming soon), together with the Spina Centrale area and the railway junction line changed and improved viability.
“The city’s rebirth is linked to the restoration of once dismissed areas like the former Westinghouse, the former Manifatture Tabacchi, the former Fiat Mirafiori, the former Cavallerizza Reale and Parco Dora – states Fabiana Megliola, responsible for Tecnocasa research department-. The city, in addition, discovered a touristic vocation after 2006 winter Olympic games. The “2017 report on tourism in Italy” of Touring Club Italiano and Unicredit puts Turin in the top 10 most visited cities of Italy”.
The Revenue Agency has registered 12,342 transactions in 2017 (+26.4% compared to the previous year), while in the first half of 2017 6,573 sales took place (+5.1% compared to the same period of the last year and aligned with the rest of the Italian market). 22% of the sales are for investment. And what about prices? “In the city, space costs half as much as in Milan, but Turin still doesn’t attract as many people as Milan does”, say the experts. Maybe Turin’s rebirth could get benefit from the proximity with Milan. “For Turin or Genua, a collaboration with Milan might be a possibility – stated in a recent conference Alzo Mazzocco, CEO of Generali real estate-, in order to grow and attract capital”.
Concerning prices, from January to June 2017 values dropped by 1%. Real estate in the city lost 41.5% from 2008, like in the rest of the Country. But the trend is not homogeneous. Alongside central zones in light contraction (-2.4%), there are areas losing 11%, such as Via Roma and Via Lagrange, where a refurbished luxury solution today costs 4,000-5,000 € Sq m. For new buildings, prices can reach 9,000 € Sq m. The area also offers exclusive luxury solutions on the Po riverside and on the hills.
A slight increase in prices concerned, on the other hand, Parco del Valentino Zone. For a two-room apartment 80-85k € are required, and 120-130k € for a three-room apartment. The area has a heterogeneous offer that goes from luxury solutions in Borgo Valentino to more popular houses in via Nizza and Via Ormea. “Let’s bring attention to the restart of the construction site in Via Petrarca, where a new five-meter palace with prices around 4k € Sq m will rise” states Megliola. Prices in the Collina macro area are diminishing. In the first half of 2017, in the Crimea and Gran Madre suburbs, several purchases for rental have been done. People buy to rent also in Madonna del Pilone and Sassi, but they’re willing to spend no more than 70k € for two-room apartments to be refurbished and either re-sell or lease. The favourite areas are Borgo di Po and Madonna del Pilone, closer to the city centre.
The opinions on Turin aren’t, however, unanimous. If the Tecnocasa team is optimistic about the city, there is who, like Carlo Giordano of immobiliare.it, that sees its limits, despite being a Turin local. “The city is still suffering – states Giordano – because the occupation market hasn’t recovered yet and the population is diminishing. Young people direct their demand towards rents”.
Big investors, however, also come to Turin, which is favoured its political stability, its safety and recognized good-quality real estate interventions. “This is not enough in order to recover real estate – he continues -, the population in Turin is diminishing by 2% per year, while in Milan is growing by 5% per year”.
The luxury market sees non-central neighbourhoods growing. “We are talking about Cit Turin, for its proximity to Porta Susa train station, San Salvario, Vanchiglia and Aurora/Regio Parco – states Giuseppe Vagge from Sotheby’s international realty -. This latter is close to the new university campus and it hosts the headquarters of important companies, as well as lofts and start-ups. The average prices, in the central areas (excluded the hills), go from 3k to 5k €/Sq m, with peaks of 6,000-7,000 in case of new properties. With a budget between 1 and 1.5 million, it’s possible to buy a prestigious property between 250 and 300 Sq m in the central neighbourhoods (roof-top apartments with terrace included). While to buy a villa on the hills, even though the market is less dynamic, it takes a higher budget”.
Source: Il Sole 24 Ore
Translator: Cristina Ambrosi