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Italian real estate is giving positive signs, apart from prices…

03 April, Milano Finanza

In 2017 the Italian real estate reported a 5.1% growth in terms of transactions, while prices continue to drop, namely by 1.15% for houses. The figures come from the real estate report made by Fiaip (the Italian Federation of Real Estate Agents) in collaboration with Enea and I-Com. Moreover, the survey shows that “the number of Italians willing to buy a house has raised by 15%”, thanks to “a very positive moment for loans in the country”. In conclusion, we’re in front of a complex scenario that shows also a slight acceleration of the market, according to Fiaip, favoured by good income levels, although mostly registered in the main cities of the country, where real estate investments have increased. These investments consist mainly in properties for rental located in the art cities, where the market for short-term rentals to tourists is growing fast.

As already mentioned, the growth in transactions hasn’t translated yet in a price rise. The increase in the number of transactions has been driven by the good results registered in the provincial capitals and by property auctions that reported 230 thousand execution orders in the past year. Whereas in the remaining cities, there are still evident signs of the crisis of the sector, with little investments in the residential and in the commercial sector. On the overall, the market reports in comparison with the previous year a decrease for houses (-1.15%), as well as for offices (-6.2%), shops (-5%) and depots (-4.1%). However, there are areas where the market is growing. Fiaip shows how in nine cities house prices have grown: Bologna (+3%), Milan (+2.8%), Florence (+2.3%), Naples (+1.3%), Palermo (+1%). In the meanwhile, prices have dropped in Rome (-1.18%), Turin (-1.4%), Cagliari (-3.3%) and Genoa (-3.5%). According to the federation, we’re currently facing “a market that is still adjusting, where the offer is growing, the demand is rising, and the gap between requested prices and selling prices is reducing (-10%)”. In addition, good signals are coming from the reduction of selling times and of the applied discount.

Looking at the future, the outlook for 2018 is for “a further consolidation of the property prices”, even though “the uncertainties generated by a political instability might reflect negatively on the real estate market. Whereas the market might benefit from a solid Government that would introduce a lighter taxation on residential properties”. More in detail, “for some cities such as Milan, Naples, Bologna and Florence, the positive trend of prices will continue also in 2018”. Moreover, “there will be an overall rise of rents in many big cities with a solid recovery of the sector, where the turnover for properties for rental is excellent, especially in art cities”. Finally, the survey shows that “Italians are not taking full advantage of the tax reliefs concerning renovation and energy-saving works, as well as anti-seismic interventions on old buildings to make them safer against earthquakes”.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi