Gate-away.com: boom of foreigners buying houses in Sicily

19 July, Il Sole 24 Ore

The demand for houses from foreigners has increased by 1.3% in the first semester of 2019. Among the emerging regions, there are Sicily (+43.9%), Abruzzo (+18.4%), Umbria (+31.46%) and Calabria (+40.03%), while Tuscany is stable at the top of the chart, although reporting a 10.15% reduction.

Buyers mainly come from the US (17.9%), Germany (13%), and the UK (12.4%). They generally prefer detached houses (+11%) over flats, as these offer better opportunities for those who want to sell. The average property value is 353,885 euro.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

There’s a demand for luxury homes, but no offer

27 February, Il Sole 24 Ore

Everybody likes a luxury home, and it can also become an investment. The prime residential segment is going through a positive phase, to the point that prices have been recovering since 2014 the losses the market suffered during the recession. All the main sector’s researches agree with this conclusion. According to the Report on Luxury Residences by Tirelli & Partners, in the second half of 2018 in Milan, considering an index of 100 set at 2011, the average selling prices were set at 96.5, having regained 10 points since the reduction registered in 2014.

“In comparison with the first part of the part of the year, the requested price had further increased by 1.4% concerning the average values, by 1.7% concerning the maximum values (houses of the first quartile in terms of total prices, generally the most exclusive and expensive ones). Top prices for square metres had even increased by 2.1%”, reports the company. “However, we lack products to sell”, says Marco Tirelli.

Quadrilatero concentrates most of the transactions for the semester: houses being sold at 8.6 million euro, corresponding to 15,636 euro/Sq m. The area registers the highest average prices in Milan: 12,488 euro/Sq m. In Venezia-Duse, prices reduce to 10, 000 euro/Sq m.

According to Engel & Völkers, in Milan, the demand for properties offering services of the highest quality and excellently-located has grown. The first nine months of 2018 registered 17,444 transactions (+1.1% yearly basis). The forecast for the current year talks about approximately 24 thousand sales. But the problem is that to the demand doesn’t correspond an adequate offer.

Engel & Völkers reports that the demand has been growing for primary residences as well as for property investments. The number of international buyers has increased along with the number of houses for investment. Chinese are looking in the most central areas, while Brexiters concentrate in Magenta/Brera or in other prime areas of the city.

“The main drivers of the demand remain facilities, a well-served area, along with functional and efficient spaces. Buyers are increasingly focused on quality and sustainability – stressed Marco Sorbara, commercial director for the Engel & Völkers Milan branch – Such aspects are increasingly important in the selection and promotion of a property”.

Gabriele Borgnino, office manager for the Milan branch, commented that: “The latest trends are services such a concierge dealing with all the various needs a family might have: receiving and delivering the groceries bought online, a laundry service, booking trips and events. All these services combine with the most advanced technologies in order to reduce the environmental impact and to limit management costs”.

There are emerging neighbourhoods such as Procaccini and Gerusalemme, Muratori, Spartaco, and Medaglie d’Oro, as well as the requalification of Darsena and the reopening of Navigli.

Foreigners look at the Capital

What’s on in Rome? Also in the Capital, the luxury market has been growing after a very calm first semester. Rome is the first market in Italy concerning the number of transactions: 22,763 in the first nine months of 2018 and over 31 thousand estimated upon final balance for the whole year. In the second half of 2018, EUR and San Giovanni registered the sharpest growth, while Prati reported a slight decrease. Transactions have also been growing for what concerns lease contracts, especially short-term rentals in the old town. A large part of the demand is represented by people from emerging economies such as Russia, the Arab countries and China. These clients mostly concentrate on the Prati-Balduina and Parioli areas, while Europeans and Americans prefer the old town. The favourite property type is the two-bedroom apartments around 100 Sq m.

Rome is also witnessing some residential real estate developments in the city centre. In Monticello, a real estate development offering stunning views and located on the hill behind the Vatican is currently being carried out by Europa Risorse and Benson Elliott and marketed by Savills through Beliving. The first phase of sales hasn’t sold out; for this reason, the project is also looking for buyers abroad.

The development consists in a residential complex featuring villas and swimming pools on the ground floor, a rooftop where to host private parties, a concierge service and a team dedicated to repairs and plumbing works included in the condominium expenses. All the 64 apartments offer domotics along with the highest quality standard. Prices start from 539 thousand euro for one-bedroom-apartments and from over 2 million for penthouses.

Savills with Beliving has also put on the market another upscale development located in Porta Portese.  Porta dei Leoni will be composed of 100 apartments, starting from 60 Sq m and prices from 276 thousand euro up to 678 thousand for three-bedroom houses. 40% of the houses have already been sold to clients from various countries, from China to the United States to Nicaragua and Jordan.

The outlook for the luxury market

“The international appointments scheduled for spring 2019, the European elections and the conclusion of Brexit might impact the European real estate market, especially the Milanese one”, according to Engel & Völkers, which believes the sector will follow a stationary trend. Roberto Magaglio, Licence Partner for the Milan branch, said that: “Spring 2019 is characterised by many international turning points such the European elections and Brexit. The outcomes of such important events will certainly have consequences on real estate, Milan included. Even in the case things will turn out not as we hope, we believe that the Milan prime residential market is a safe haven compared to other asset classes. If the results are market-friendly, we think that the luxury segment may grow further both in terms of transactions and values”.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Engel & Völkers on luxury homes: “The market in Italy has restarted”

26 February, Corriere della Sera

Engel & Völkers is looking at Italy. The German company is looking for professionals, new cities, and, more importantly, new homes. To sell and to buy. Because “Italy is the most beautiful country in the world”. The real estate company from Hamburg with 40 years of activity, present in over 30 countries and staffing 11 thousand people around the world, bets on Italy for 2019. 2018 saw a double-digit growth. The net returns of the German company increased by 33% from 2017, having gone from 18.8 million to 25 million euro. The residential division which also includes the direct activity in the Metropolitan Market Center in Rome (31 thousand transactions in the Capital in 2018) grew by 22% with 31.8 million euro (they were 26.1 million in 2017), while they reached 728 million globally (from 667.8 in 2017).

Alberto Cogliati, Engel & Völkers commercial director for Italy, commented: “The results are not that obvious. We operate in a niche market, which is luxury homes. In the past few years, buyers have been mostly foreigners. 100% of the buyers in Porto Cervo were foreigners. In 2018, Italians returned buying luxury properties”, from the lakes of Lombardy to Tuscany, Sardinia, Milan and Rome. On the Garda Lake, for instance, “we’ve gone from 90% of foreigners in 2016-2017 to 75%, while 25% were Italians”. Even better on the Como Lake: “In Cernobbio, 75-80% of the buyers were foreigners. In 2018, 50% were Italians”. We’re talking about luxury homes in prime areas, as Cogliati explains:” We’re the leaders for this niche, holding 10% of the market”. This market, despite the recession, “never known a crisis”.

Foreigners are the main target. Cogliati says: “They’re our core clients. They love Italy: its climate, its arts, its food”. As a result, British, Germans, Dutch, French, Belgians and Americans continue dreaming about a house on the lake in Lombardy o in Argentario, in Siena, or Venice, or Rome. For what concerns 2019, Cogliati is positive: “we aim at increasing sales by 20% and expand further in Italy”.  Engel & Völkers will hire about 130 people for its new offices.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Portfofino villa sold to a Chinese buyer for 35 million. The number of luxury houses sold to foreigners has increased

18 February, Il Sole 24 Ore

Villa Buonaccordo di Portofino has been sold to a Chinese investor for a record price between 30 and 35 million euro. The location overlooking the Gulf of Tigullio and the yellow colour make the villa easily recognisable in many pictures of the Liguria village.

The portal Lionard had managed the deal. The advertisements on the website are translated into 20 languages. Many international sites are specialised in luxury properties such as Christie’s international Re, Sotheby’s International Realty and Knight Frank, all the offering prime villas. Even though many negotiations are confidential, the fact of being advertised on this sort of platforms, combined with the discretion of the brokers, shows that most of the buyers are foreigners. Long gone are the times when properties were being sold among Italians without any of the non-experts of the field knowing about it.

In the case of Villa Buonaccordo – perhaps, better known as Villa Pagani since it was the property of the family of the artist Herbert Pagani -, what is surprising is that the buyer is a Chinese, while most of the negotiations are being held with Americans, who are back again on the market. An example is the purchase of Villa Bibbiani not far from Florence, last year for approximately 20 million.

The protagonists of the market remain the Russians though, who have bought mainly on the coasts and in Tuscany countryside, partly replacing British clients. Another villa in Portofino, Villa Altachiara, which used to belong to countess Francesca Vacca Agusta, was bought on auction in 2015 by a Russian for 25 million. In any case, the sellers are Italian, while rarely foreigners “regret” their purchases.

The flat tax on 100 million encourages luxury purchases by wealthy foreigners who are moving their residence to Italy. Foreigners are not interested only in luxury assets. According to the data recently published by Gate-Away.com, a portal specialising in international real estate transactions, over one 1.5 million foreigners looked for properties in Italy in 2018, 8.4% more than the previous year, for an average property value of 350 thousand euro.

Villa Buonaccordo develops on five levels covering a surface of 850 Sq m and featuring two swimming pools: one inside with a jacuzzi and a heated pool outside surrounded by the garden. The advertisement on Lionard describes the property as “the perfect combination between elegance and refined design, the result of a meticulous renovation work on the original structure dating 1922”.

The buyer is Zhang Liang Johnson, leader of Kinetic Mines and Energy Limited, a company operating in the coal supply chain, and of Top Dynamic International, a holding mainly active in the semiconductor sector for electronics.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Fiaip: “Ups and downs for the touristic property market in Latina”

08 September, Latina Today

“The summer has been all ups and downs for the touristic property market in Latina”. That’s how the experts commented last season. While the internal market is still weak, having registered a decrease of the demand from people coming from the area comprised between Rome, Naples and Frosinone – around 20%-, foreign tourists have increased, balancing out – if not even slightly increasing – the total revenues for the market. “The new technologies have no doubt played a part for what concerns the promotion of the territory” – explains Salvatore Meneghello, Fiaip representative. “In some months, like March and April, the transactions positively concluded with foreign investors surpassed hands-down those with domestic buyers. After all, who comes from far away is certainly interested in closing the deal, with the great benefit of real estate agents”.

Foreign tourists

Germany is first with 29% of the manifestations of interest, followed by France (19%), and Switzerland (14%). Then come the Netherlands, Great Britain (both with 5%), Belgium (4%), Spain (3%), United States, Poland and Russia. This latter, along with the Baltics (especially Estonia and Latvia) is looking for more upscale properties, hence more expensive.

The other side of the coin

But all that glitters is not gold. Meneghello explains: “Many want to rent to their countrymates the house they buy. For this scope, some factors are penalising our market, as investors look at the level of infrastructures: roads, train stations, buildings’ facilities. They all concur to the final decision. Unfortunately, the beauty of our territory is penalised by the poor quality of infrastructures”.

Stefano Vertice, Fiaip director, intervenes: “We have the same problem with tourist rentals. Web portals do their job. But if guests find worn-out furniture in the apartment, no air conditioning and no Wi-Fi connection, the web will have no mercy: a bed review damages the whole territory”. Vertice stresses that “Our tourism caters to families. Pontino is not Romagna. There aren’t many attractions for young people. The modern family though is represented by people in their thirties and internet savvy. You can’t offer them a house with no Wi-Fi, a 19-inches cable TV, and air conditioning”. Vertice bitterly concludes: “Property owners tend to skimp on modern facilities, but such an attitude is like a suicide. We need a change, or we’ll pay the consequences soon”.

The provincial president Pietro Baglio agrees and comments: “I’ll report my colleagues’ opinion at the national council. Not only. Institutions might help us by promoting our brand, “Lazio”, which nobody barely knows about”. The president explains: “When we include in our ads the proximity to the capital, we immediately get people’s attention. Beautiful sea an hour away from Fiumicino airport and the Colosseum. For tourists used to travel thousands of miles, this is nothing. Rome is the winning cart, while the rest of the region is rather unknown, except for Sperlonga or Circeo. We need a more aggressive promotion – concludes Baglio – to be instantly more recognisable”.

Source: Latina Today

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Russian and Chinese buyers are looking at the jewels of Piedmont

02 August, La Stampa

Many wealthy international buyers fell in love with Piedmont, and its territory ended up buying here villas, historic buildings and even castles for six-digits amounts. Prices are undoubtedly high, but not exaggerated if we consider the luxury of these properties, the dimensions and the beauty of the landscape.

The most bizarre example is the villa on the lake in Pallanza which was bought by a wealthy Russian who owns the network for the transmission of liquid gas in the Baltic Sea. He never saw the property before signing the contract. The Fiaip vice president in Verbania, Alberto Actis, tells: “I was contacted by his commercial office. During the negotiations, we spot several helicopters flying over the area. Perhaps, he wanted to make sure the house existed. He couldn’t believe it was possible to buy pieces of art in Italy for so cheap”. The deal was sealed for 5.7 million euro. The house features elegant furniture and pieces art and design, 19th-century paintings and carpets. The Russian liked the area so much that he convinced other four friends to buy villas close to his. One of these villas was the house of the painter Ferraguti, and it went to an Uzbeki for approximately 1.2 million.

Buyers in Piedmont are mostly Europeans: Germans, Dutch, and Swiss, while Russians look at unique and prestigious properties. “Foreigners want to immerse in the Italian culture, living in old traditional houses”, Paolo Papi, Fiaip president for Piedmont, explains.

In Turin, short-term rentals are preferred over sales, and they do very well: 30% of the properties are rented to French, followed by Germans. One of the reasons is the demand coming from European professionals moving here for work. They focus on big apartments, up to 300 Sq m, in the area between Piazza Castello and Piazza Vittorio. A large-sized apartment along the Po river with terrace was rented to a German businessman that needed a base in the city once a week. Besides managers, there are also musicians and famous artists. For instance, an American woman from Los Angeles bought together with her Italian husband a penthouse apartment in Via Degli Artisti. Finally, the apartments in Via Riberi got the interest of a French group.

Monferrato is the favourite location of wealthy tourists from Northern Europe. For instance, the San Giorgio castle, on the market for 3 million euro, is currently under negotiation with Swedish buyers. Chinese are another story altogether, as they’re looking for whole castles to buy and convert into hotels. The objective is to cater to Chinese tourists offering them an inclusive package with accommodation and wine tastings. For this purpose, they have already identified two castles for sale with land and vineyard annexed amounting to 20-24 million euro.

Source: La Stampa

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Investing in a second house is back in fashion among Italians. Prices are still convenient with returns up to 5%

02 July, Economia & Lavoro

The low interest rates, the convenient property prices and the beginning of the economic recovery made Italians returning to invest in real estate. According to the latest Nomisma report on real estate finance, the buyers looking for a property to buy within 12 months are 2.6 million. It means a potential turnover for 436.9 billion euro, against the 90 billion in 2017. The interesting fact is that the investment component is growing again after a standstill lasted two years, concerning 400 thousand families, namely 15.4% of the potential market for this year. The concept of the second house has changed, especially for those living in a big city. Not only beach or mountain destinations, but also big cities where second houses can be rented as well.

According to an analysis by Facile.it and Mutui.it carried out on sample of over 15 thousand mortgage applications submitted through the two portals between January and December 2017, the applications concerning the purchase of a second property were approximately 7% of the total, having increased from the previous year, while the average value of the properties reached 191,691 euro (+4.7%). The last data from the Revenue Agency confirm the recovery of transactions: between January and March 2018, the sales were 127,777 (+4.3%). The increase allows to recover from the significant losses registered in 2012, but not the prices. These, in fact, are still below the pre-crisis levels and don’t seem to rise again. There are a few exceptions, such as prime properties and those located in the old towns.

Which returns the rental of a second house can grant? Around 4.9%, according to Tecnocasa. The price curve has been calculated referring to the variations of the property prices regarding transactions for the “medium dated” one-bedroom apartment typology (namely properties with characteristics of no particular value but neither cheap built more than ten years ago). The big cities with the highest gross returns are Verona (5.8%) and Palermo (5.5%), followed by Bari (5.1%), Bologna (4.7%), Florence (4.2%), Genoa (5.4%), Milan )5.0%), Naples (4.6%), Rome (4.4%), and Turin (4.6%).

It’s interesting also to note how beach, lake and mountain destinations are going through a revival, having the demand for rentals increased. Prices have reduced since the beginning of the recession (-28.5% for the lake, -34.8% for the beach, -30.8% for the mountain), making the purchase of a holiday house more convenient.

According to Tecnocasa, the most attractive properties are on the Verona-side of Garda lake, which reported the return of purchases by international buyers, as well as Iseo lake. For what concerns beach destinations, the coast of Romagna, Amalfi and Cilento in Campania are the favourites, along with Salento (especially Gallipoli) and the area around Castellammare del Golfo and Scopello in Sicily. Regarding mountain, buyers are particularly interested in Saint Vincent and Champoluc, part of the Monterosa skiing area. Foreigners prefer small villages on the coast and mostly buy old houses spending significant amounts up to one million. Italians, on the contrary, have smaller budgets, around 250-300 thousand euro, preferring apartments not far from the beach and possibly with an external space and a view.

Source: Economia & Lavoro

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Real estate in Tuscany is growing again

29 May, La Nazione

Tuscany is the third region in Italy concerning transactions and the first for purchases by international investors looking to buy a house in Italy.

According to the 2018 report on the real estate market in Tuscany by Scenari Immobiliari with the collaboration of Casa.it, last year the region registered 35,500 transactions, corresponding to 6.3% of the total purchases at a national level. In central Italy, only Lazio did better.

Tuscany will keep the same the pace also in 2018. In fact, according to the outlook, the year will close with 39,500 house purchases, 11.3% more than 2017, little below the national average of 12.5% expected by the year-end.

In the meanwhile, prices remain stable. According to Scenari Immobiliari and Casa.it, they’ll resume the growth only in 2020, when they return to the level of 2010, a year that reported numbers already below the pre-crisis period. Prices in the region decreased in 2017 by 0.5%, while for the current year the outlook is for a countertrend with an increase of 0.5%.

Concerning prices, Florence has substantially maintained the same numbers in the last ten years along with Pisa and Siena, while Massa has seen the sharpest fall in prices, with a 29% reduction compared to 2008.

Prato, Grosseto and Pistoia have also reported significant value losses equal to 20%, while in Arezzo prices have fallen 23% from 2008, even though the city has left the toughest part of the crisis behind. Lucca and Livorno have decreased by 17.3%. The figures referring to second houses purchases suggest that the property market is picking up, even though buyers are for large part foreigners.

From this point of view, 2017 has been a good year. And 2018 will also be good: according to the outlook, 9 thousand foreigners are evaluating buying a house in Italy, nearly 1,900 of them will invest in Tuscany. The favourite destinations are beach and cultural ones, as long as they’re not too close to the city. The average investment amount to 530 thousand euro, but transactions over one million euro to buy a farmhouse or a villa are also common, especially if the property comes with a vineyard or an orchard.

Foreign buyers are mostly German and Russian. Americans are set around 10%, while the presence of Chinese and Indians is growing.

“The Tuscany property market doesn’t stop at the main dwelling – comments Mario Breglia, president of Scenari Immobiliari – on the contrary, it offers interesting opportunities in the second house segment to Italian and international buyers, either to rent or to use as a holiday house”.

Where? “The preference goes to trendy locations, especially if the location offers beautiful views and is well connected”. For what concerns Italians, 4 thousand will invest in a second house in Tuscany. This trend caused prices to hike, especially in beach destinations such as Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano in the province of Grosseto, and in Forte dei Marmi, in Versilia, where prices go from 7,500 to 14,300 euro/Sq m.

Source: La Nazione

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi