Tag: holiday houses

Mountain destinations: mixed performance of the property market

27 October, Milano Finanza

St. Moritz is no longer the queen of the Alps, at least concerning prices. The highest price increase was recorded by Villars, in the Vaud canton, with a 6% increase reported by the Ski Property Index created by Knight Frank. The index follows the trend of centrally located four-bedroom chalets in 16 ski destinations in the French and Swiss Alps. The values of Villars (13 thousand francs/Sq m) have certainly benefitted from the presence of three international schools which foster the request for temporary accommodation, as well as from the recent investments in infrastructures such as new cable cars, a ski area for beginners and the possibility to sci by night. Verbier too shows a significant increase in the values with a 3.4% growth (22,300 francs/Sq m), confirming to be one of the most popular ski destinations thanks to its accessible and sunny position and the good offer on leisure activities. Apart from these two destinations, however, prices in Switzerland have slowed down their growth mainly due to a strong franc which deterred international investments, preferring France and Austria. The hard currency also had an impact on rentals, as the demand has weakened. In St. Moritz, prices have decreased by 11.1% (the indicative price for a chalet is set at 20,800 francs/Sq m). The main reason is the difficulty of making the demand and the supply meet, as the demand is preferring smaller properties than in the past.

In France, the price variation is not as sharp. The most significant variations were in Val d’Isère (+3%), followed by Chamonix (+2.3%). Val d’Isère, 1,850 metres of altitude, is one of the highest destinations in France, with ski runs at 3,400 metres, plus it benefits from heavy snows, excellent quality of skiing and a longer than average tourist season. Megève (+1.1%) and Courchevel attract the most exclusive tourists. The latter has seen the prices in its villages at 1,500 and 1,650 metres increasing by 2.2%, thanks to private and public investments. The perspective is optimistic, as Courchevel and Méribel (+0.9%) are included in the biggest ski complex in the world, “Les 3 Valées”, which will host the ski competitions in 2023.

In Italy, the decrease in values for touristic properties has also concerned mountain destinations. 2018 reported a negative performance comprised between -3% for dated properties in the outskirts and -2% for new good qualities properties. The figures are taken from the National Observatory for the touristic real estate by Fimaa-Confcommercio in collaboration with Nomisma. The survey reports that the average price of a mountain house is set at 3,090 euro/Sq m for new properties, 2,157 euro/Sq m for dated properties centrally located and 1,489 euro/Sq m for dated properties in the outskirts. Exclusive locations as Madonna di Campiglio (-3.5%) have also seen their value falling, although the selling prices here remain the highest (12,400 euro/Sq m), followed by Courmayeur (11,100 euro/Sq m) and Cortina (10.800 euro/Sq m).

Tecnocasa head of research centre Fabiana Megliola explains that “with the prices remaining unchanged or moderately decreasing, we’ve assisted in the past few months at an increase in the demand from various locations, from Cogne (it will host the world cross-country skiing competitions in February 2019) to Bardonecchia, Folgaria and Moena. The budget is rather limited and comprised between 200 and 300 thousand euro for one- and two-bedroom houses”. Tecnocasa reports an emerging positive trend represented by foreign buyers, especially Swiss and Belgians, interested in Cogne and Val di Fassa. Megliola concludes: “The most easily accessible areas are always the one reporting the best price performance. Such locations continue investing in infrastructure, sports and hotel facilities, broadening their range of services on offer”.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

The farmhouse market is growing. The top location is Piedmont

01 October, Il Sole 24 Ore

Investors are interested again in traditional farmhouses. Besides Tuscany, the demand focuses on Piedmont, especially on the provinces of Cuneo and Asti. These figures are taken from Idealista on behalf of Il Sole 24 Ore, and they show that the interest in the segment has increased from last year by approximately 48%.

The lower prices created new opportunities for buying. In the case of Piedmont, it’s possible to purchase a traditional property in the wine region at convenient prices. “Prices vary according to the prestige of the property, the position and the surrounding area”, says Vincenzo de Tommaso, from the Idealista research centre.

Prices tend to rise if the house is located in the vineyards of the Chianti region, in the Langhe or in Valdobbiadene (Conegliano), whose hills will become Unesco heritage in 2019.

“In Franciacorta, the offer for farmhouses with panoramic view and in good condition has deceased”, says Fabiana Megliola from Tecnocasa. There’s an increasing interest for the Iseo Lake, both as main dwelling and as holiday house. The property values in Franciacorta are set around 1,800 euro/Sq m for a house in good conditions and at 2,000 euro/Sq m for new properties (2,500 euro/Sq m for properties in the prestigious town of Gussago). The demand for farmhouses in the whole region is very high, especially from buyers from Milan. In Gussago, prices generally start from one million, while Paratico is the town with the highest concentration of investors from Lombardy.

Concerning Langhe, the market in the towns of Grinzane Cavour, Barolo, Monforte d’Alba, Verduno, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto e Serralunga d’Alba is characterised by the presence of buyers from Northern Europe. The Barolo region is very popular, and prices here start from 200 thousand euro for houses to be renovated and over one million for renovated ones. Buyers tend to look for large-sized properties, from 150 Sq m upwards, with an external space, a garden and the necessary space to build a swimming pool. A 200-250 Sq m farmhouse in good conditions can cost around 350-380 thousand euro.

The architect Elda Magna from the Ri-Urban studio remarks the restrictions due to the paperwork and the location (in the case the house is located inside a national park), and that costs may vary depending on the region.

Castiglione d’Asti is very appreciated because of its proximity to several Unesco heritage sites and lower prices in comparison with Langhe. The region registers the presence of investors mostly from Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. A farmhouse to renovate with five rooms and a small plot of land costs between 80 and 100 thousand euro. There are many requests also from those intending to start a business in hazelnut farming.

The province of Pavia, in Stradella, on the hills of Santa Maria della Versa, Montù Beccaria and San Damiani al Colle, offers plenty of old houses, farmhouses and courtyard houses from the 20th century or even earlier. The demand for such properties as a holiday house is rather low. Prices for houses to renovate start from 35-40 thousand euro. The renovation costs are between 800 and 1,000 euro/Sq m.

Tuscany has reported a decrease in the demand from the UK in the last few years. Pisa and Lucca are still very popular. Prices have increased in Pisa, while they’ve decreased in Grosseto by 10%.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Prices of beach houses have further decreased by 1.1%

15 August, Libero

The holiday houses market is giving mixed signals: -1.1% for beach houses, +0.2% for those on lakes and -1.5% for mountain locations. Since 2008, beach houses have lost 39.6% of their value, the lake ones 28.3% and mountain 31.7%. The data are taken from the research centre of the group Tecnocasa that analysed the trend of beach, lake and mountain tourist destinations. Prices have continued falling in the second part of 2017. The report also mentioned a slight reduction of people buying this property type for direct use, as well as some news concerning the typology of investors and the scope of the purchase.

The demand focuses on one-bedroom apartments or small two-bedroom apartments the closest as possible to the beach and featuring an external space for a price comprised between 100-140 thousand euro and 150-230 thousand euro respectively.

Source: Libero

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Holiday houses: sales have grown, but prices are going down

06 August, Il Sole 24 Ore

The trend of transactions is slow but positive, but prices are still reducing. The report by Fimaa and Nomisma about the holiday house market in Italy confirms the difficulties the segment is experiencing, both for beach and mountain destinations. Prime locations are the only exception.

Transactions in 2017 registered a 3.5% increase from the previous year. Lake is the favourite destination (+8% for sales, although in 2016 these spiked by 15.2% from 2015), beach lost its appeal (+4.8% against the 19.9% registered in 2016 in comparison with 2015), while mountain destinations reported a 4.3% fall (transactions were +23.5% in 2016).

Meanwhile, prices are dropping everywhere, with not much difference between beach and mountain locations. Friuli Venezia Giulia (-0.1%) and Puglia (-0.5%) are stable. The report surveyed 203 beach destinations and 112 lake and mountain locations. Concerning the beach, Abruzzo and Lazio registered the biggest decrease in apartment sales in 2018 (-4.1%), followed by Sardinia (-3.5%). Regarding mountain and lake destinations, Umbria reported the worst performance (-4.5%), followed by Abruzzo (-3.9%).

In 2018 the average price to buy a holiday house in Italy is set at 2,173 euro/Sq m, with a yearly reduction of 2.5%. However, the average price doesn’t fully explain the situation, as this also includes peaks as 13 thousand euro in Santa Margherita Ligure (referring to luxury houses) as well as bottom-end prices like 400 euro/Sq m in Serra San Bruno and Porto Rosa.

According to the analysis carried out by Fimaa-Nomisma for Il Sole 24 Ore, it turns out that between 2014 and 2018 (first semester), the average prices for the first 13 holiday destinations have dropped with reductions comprised between -2.5% in Anacapri and -19.4% in Forte dei Marmi. In Anacapri, new and prime properties have registered the sharpest decrease (-6.6%), while being the only location where prices have remained stable in the first part of 2018 in comparison with the same period of 2017 (+0.9%).

Looking at the high-end prices (hence exclude the average ones), after Santa Margherita Ligure, there are Capri with 12,800 euro/Sq m and Forte dei Marmi with 12,700 euro/Sq m. They’re followed by popular mountain locations such as Madonna di Campiglio, Courmayeur and Cortina d’Ampezzo with prices between 10.800 euro/Sq m and 12,400 euro/Sq m.

On the overall, the destinations that didn’t see their prices decreasing and remained substantially unchanged have been locations in Puglia such as Ostuni, Vieste, Manfredonia, Peschici and San Giovanni Rotondo. Vieste and Peschici have bet on the renovation of existing construction, while Ostuni has gotten the attention of international buyers, thanks to its farmhouses, olive groves and old houses to remodel.

According to the analysts, the holiday house market is mainly driven by purchases for direct use (63%), only 16% of the transactions are for investment, whereas 21% is a mix of both. Italians represent 81% of the buyers, while foreigners constitute the remaining 19%, confirming the trend reported last year.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Buyers are back in Chianti

12 July, Il Sole 24 Ore

The market is slowly recovering, and it has never lost its charm in the eyes of foreigners. On the contrary, it attracts international buyers looking for investments outside their countries, such as the Chinese. “For the first time in ten years, I can see the Tuscany market of holiday houses recovering, especially concerning the Chianti region”, said Bill Thomson, head of the Italian residential market for Knight Frank, who has been living and working in Italy for the last 30 years.

Thomson continues: “The holiday house segment, and not only in Tuscany, was overrated. In 2008 we started noticing a fall even before Lehman Brothers defaulted. Since then, the market in Chianti (the region between Florence and Siena) has lost up to 50% of its value”. The dynamism of the market hasn’t translated into a price increase yet, but an increased interest can be deduced by the growing requests and visits to the properties and real estate websites.

What are the reasons for the crisis? Besides the obvious difficulties encountered by the domestic and international real estate since 2008, the local market has been mainly impacted by the prices, as these were too high in comparison with other parts of the world, where it was possible to buy bigger and more beautiful properties spending the same amount. Thomson continues: “Our clients look at the whole world. If Chianti becomes too expensive, they move to France, where houses are sold only if the price is aligned with the market. Selling is only a matter of price”.

In its highest price range, the survey focuses on wineries with beautiful villas attached, costing up to 20 million. Villas just outside the city are also very popular, but only if they’re renovated. There have also been many researches for five-star hotels, both in small and large towns. “We’ve been noticing a steady stream of capitals towards Italy from all over the world – said Thomson – Buyers come for a large part from Asia and the Middle East, but we’ve also registered a return of British”.

The favourite destinations in Chianti are those close to Florence, like Impruneta, Greve and Panzano, and around Siena such as Gaiole and Radda.

According to Scenari Immobiliari, the average prices in some touristic and hill locations have increased by 2% from June 2017. There’s a sharp difference with the places on the hills in the rest of the country, where prices have decreased by 1.3% in the same period. Impruneta is at the top of the chart, reporting a +3% variation for the last 12 months and prices between 2,050 and 4,700 euro/Sq m, the highest value among the tourist destinations in the area.

Gaiole and Greve in Chianti have kept a positive trend in the last year as well as in the previous five years. According to Scenari Immobiliari, Greve registered a 2.3% increase in June 2017, with prices comprised between 1,750 and 3,600 euro/Sq m, returning to the values of 2013. Greve proves to be the most convenient destination along with Boggibonsi and Tavernelle Val Pesa, with prices starting from 1,700 euro/Sq m. Gaiole has increased by 1.6% in 2017.

The other destinations have decreased from 2013, with negative peaks reaching 4.2% for Tavernelle Val Pesa.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

From Veneto to Sicily: the prices for a beach house

08 July, Libero

Time to go on holiday. Schools are closed, and the Italians are getting ready to spend another summer on the beach, away from the office in the cities. For those who haven’t booked anywhere yet, the best last-minute solution is renting an apartment.

We’ve checked the most popular websites (Casavanze.it, Airbnb, HomeAway) and chose different beach destinations looking for solutions suitable to a family of four. The period considered is the week from 16th to 23rd of July and the Ferragosto week (13th-20th August). Generally speaking, it’s cheaper going on holiday in July, except in Cattolica, where it’s less expensive in August. These are the prices that we’ve found for each destination.

Northern Italy

In Jesolo, a few minutes’ drive from Venice and four hours from Milan, prices start from 75 euro a day, reaching a maximum of 120 euro for July. Prices rise in mid-August when the cheapest apartment cost 98 euro a day. Prices go down if we rent for the whole month. It’s possible, in fact, to spend the whole month of July at the beach with 2,000 euro, 2,250 euro in August.

In the west, there is Laigueglia, Liguria, not far away from France and 200 km both from Turin and Milan. There is little difference here between prices in July and August: they both cots 700 euro a week, 1,260 euro for the most expensive properties. Prices go below one hundred euro a night if we decide to spend the whole month: 1,950 euro for July and 2,190 euro for August for the most budget solutions.

Going down on the Tyrrhenian coast, in Castiglione della Pescia (Grosseto), 500 euro in July and 600 euro in August are enough. Apart for budget accommodations, prices reach 350 euro a night for August. It’s possible to make some bargain if renting for the whole month, spending around 1,500 euro in July.

On the Adriatic coast, in the always famous beaches of Romagna, Cattolica offers apartments from 85 to 132 euro a night in the week in July. The prices go up in August, starting from 110 euro and reaching 142 euro. While if renting for the whole month of July prices don’t change, in August it’s possible to rent an apartment for 2-3 thousand euro.

One hundred km south, in the Marche, there is Sirolo, very easily reachable both from the north and the south. Here, there is a considerable difference between July and August. If it’s possible to rent an accommodation in July with 500 euro, the prices can be over 1,500 euro in August.

Always on the Adriatic Sea, a further 100 km down, there is Alba Adriatica (Abruzzo). Here, the week in July costs little less than 300 euro, while the price doubles in August with 600 euro. Concerning the whole month, prices go from 1,500 euro to 4.500 euro both for July and August.

Southern Italy

Moving to the south, in Marina di Camerota (Salerno), Cilento, the price range varies a lot. Here, a family may spend even only 35 euro a night, but such amount doubles in August, reaching up to 150 euro. Those renting for the whole months can get more convenient prices, as the whole of July can cost little less than one thousand euro.

Capo Rizzuto, on the Ionian coast of Calabria, has similar prices, with 115 euro a night in the considered week in July and 123 euro a night in August. The prices per day are the same whether we book for the whole of July or August, as they both cost 900 euro.

On the opposite coast, there is Santa Maria di Leuca, the southernmost part of Salento, five hours drive and Naples and six from Rome.  Here, the most expensive apartments can exceed 2,200 euro for the week in August and 2,000 euro for the week in July. Same situation if we decide to rent for the whole month: prices go from a minimum of 1,000 euro in July to a maximum of 8,500 euro of some accommodation in August.

Finally, Taormina, less than an hour from the Catania airport, registers the highest prices of southern Italy. Here, there is not much difference between July and August, also because there are not many available accommodations left. For both months, prices go from 350 euro to 2,100 (July) and 2,400 (August). For who want to spend the whole month here (and can afford it), the price doesn’t go below 1,500, hiking up to 10 thousand euro even in July.

Source: Libero

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Why investing in villages

07 July, Milano Finanza

In the country of bell towers, villages are a distinctive element, and they have been only recently discovered and promoted. Small centres carved out of rocks, or overhanging the sea, often surrounded by nature and rich in history and artistic heritage, they are invaluable assets beloved by tourists. But the visitor, charmed by the place, might also consider buying a second house there.

Tecnocasa has recently shown this trend, analysing the property market in Italy’s most beautiful villages, where beautiful nature combines with history and culture.

Who spends the holidays in villages

“Surveying our affiliate companies, we’ve found out how, besides the beach and lake holiday house market, a new trend concerning second houses is emerging”, explains Fabiana Megliola, head of research for Tecnocasa. Amalfi, Polignano a Mare, Lazise and Matera: these are all charming places, especially for foreigners who love their peace, uniqueness and architecture, while comfort and services are not primary factors for the choice. On the contrary, these latter are very important for Italians”. In fact, such places may not be easy to reach; often they can be accessed only on foot or by bus, or by climbing steep stairs. If the location is on the coast, where most of the services are located here, the village will be on an isolated location up on a hill.

Investment opportunities

Italians are interested in the investment mostly to rent the property as a holiday house or as a bed & breakfast.

Unlike house rentals, renting to tourists can grant higher returns, considering that nowadays holiday houses are generally leased for shorter periods from the past, usually for one or two weeks. For instance, in Castelsardo, in the Sassari province, where a medieval fortress rises from the promontory on the Gulf of Asinara, the rent for a one-bedroom apartment is 450 euro a week. In Lazise, on the Verona side of the Garda Lake, and in Matera, Unesco heritage, the average is 60-70 euro a day for a one-bedroom apartment. In Polignano a Mare (BA), the rent is 70-80 euro a day, while in the area between Cipressa and Costarainera (IM), on the hills covered with olive trees, the average weekly rent is 350 euro.

Iseo Lake has benefitted a lot from public visibility and the return of tourists, thanks to the performance by the artist Christo in 2016, The Floating Piers, which connected the two banks of the lake. In villages such as Sulzano, Monte Isola, Iseo and Sarnico, the considerable increase in hotel bookings and holiday houses had positive effects on the property market which saw a growth of investors.

A part of the demand is driven by investors from Northern Europe looking for cycling itineraries in Italy. In Liguria, the conversion of some abandoned train tracks into cycling lanes attracted a new typology of tourists, who love discovering old paths and mule tracks by bike, like in Lingueglietta, a locality near Cipressa, and in Costarainera. Garda Lake, a favourite of German visitors, is also investing in bike tourism. Here, the first segment (2 km) of the project Garda by Bike will be inaugurated on 14th July in Limone. It will be just a part of a bigger cycling network which is supposed to be completed by 2021, with a scenic path that will circle the whole lake.

Great attention to renovations

People looking to buy a property in one of these picturesque villages, like Castelsardo or Matera, will have to be aware of the restructuring costs for these historic houses. “These properties have architectural restrictions which require the use of locally-sourced materials for the renovation, resulting in higher costs and longer times to complete the works, also due to the difficulty in finding the skilled people to carry them out”., adds Megliola. For instance, in Matera, the renovation costs are around 1,000/1,500 euro/Sq m on top of a selling price amounting to 2,000 euro/Sq m for a medium dated property. Hence, it’s essential to ask for a detailed estimate to have an idea of the impact of the restructuring costs on the total investment.

The most exclusive part of Sardinia is Galluria

Galluria is an alternative to the old village, offering the same peace just a few steps away from pristine waters, combined with concerns luxury villas immersed in the scents and the colours of the Mediterranean shrubs.

“Here, who is looking to relax in an untouched environment, far from the crowds of the coast, can find unique properties, such as old shepherds’ houses which have been renovated and turned into luxury villas, often featuring a swimming pool”, explains Luciano Magi, Idee Residenziali Ceo. The prices for such properties are rather high, starting from one million, while the weekly rent ranges from 3-4 thousand euro a week to 9-10 thousand in August. “Who wants to invest for rental should focus on newly-built villas with swimming pool, in an excellent position near the sea or with sea view”, continues Magi. “Moreover, the presence of tourists from Northern Europe, Switzerland, France and Russia helps stretching the tourist season from June to the end of September”. In this case, prices are comprised between 500 and 700 thousand euro, with expected yearly returns around 5%. One of the strengths of Galluria is its good connections thanks to the Olbia airport and the ferries departing from its port.

Source: Milano Finanza

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

Florence, real estate is booming thanks to Russians and Chinese

22 June, La Nazione

An ever-changing city, as proved by projects covering a 450 thousand Sq m total surface. There are investments planned for Florence from now to 2023 for a total of 1.17 billion euro, placing the capital of Tuscany at the third place after Milan and Rome concerning the number of projects and the amounts of investments, capable of attracting international investors, both institutional and private. The figures come from the Tuscany real estate report by Scenari Immobiliari in collaboration with Casa.it presented in the Confindustria offices in Florence.

Fifteen of the 19 real estate projects concerning Tuscany are in Florence: the former tobacco factory, the renovation of the exhibition centre in Fortezza del Basso, the new stadium in the former Fiat area in Viale Belfiore, the Grand Hotel Majestic and the old military bakery in Via Mariti. Many of these projects are funded by international companies which are increasingly interested in Florence, also when it comes to buying a second house. Germans, British, Russians, Americans, but also Indians and Chinese are buying houses not only along the coast but also villas and farmhouses around Florence. Many are purchasing a home for themselves, and this is a growing trend. In 2018 there have been 6 thousand transactions, increasing by 13.3% compared from last years, with a revenue of 1.5 billion euro. Prices are gradually growing, and they’re expected to reach the 2010 levels by 2020. In the past few years, prices have risen mainly in Novoli, Via Baracca and Ponte di Mezzo by 6.3%, Santo Spirito and Lungarno Guicciardini registered a +4.8%. Santa Croce reported a 4.7% growth, with average prices exceeding 5,100 euro/Sq m in April. The properties in the Curie area have also increased in value, registering a +3.9% and an average price of 4,453 euro/Sq m, while Ricorboli and Gavinana have grown by 3.1% and prices are around 3,700 euro/Sq m.

If we consider the last ten years, the old town is the area that has grown the most: Santo Spirito and Lungarno Guicciardini (+23.8%), Santa Croce (+16.5%), Piazza del Duomo and Piazza Signoria (+14.3%), Santa Maria Novella (+12.8%).

Luca Rossetto, Casa.it Ceo, comments: “Florence is a very active market: transactions are growing, times for selling are reducing, and prices are rising, especially in the old town, having gone from 4% to 7% in the first months of 2018”.

According to the president of Scenari Immobiliari, Mario Breglia, the most popular homes in Florence are “functional, energy-efficient (class A or at least B), with a lot of light, even better if featuring a balcony and ideally a nice view”. People moving to a new house prefers a central location, while they rarely move to the suburbs.

Source: La Nazione

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Foreigners are looking for houses in Italy’s old villages

11 June, Il Sole 24 Ore

Old towns and small villages are scattered all around Italy. Some have been reconstructed, and others are abandoned. Foreign buyers have a fascination for these small towns, as they come to Italy to spend the holidays or to retire.

“Many villages were built in the middle age, and then have been abandoned – explains Alessandro Ghisolfi from AbitareCo -. According to the figures, there are over 5 thousand abandoned villages, and about 3 thousand that risk to disappear”. The south of the country has the highest concentration, especially in Basilicata, but many are also in the Marche and in Tuscany, as well as in some area of Liguria. These places were rediscovered in the Nineties. Since then, the interest increased, along with the prices. Today, the recovery of an entire village costs from three to thirty million euro. Anyway, it’s still a small niche. Some old villages are still inhabited and are close to tourist destinations. They have been reconstructed little by little, such as the backcountry of Como lake. The old stone houses have been reconverted into holiday houses, mostly by foreigners. Britons aim at Tuscany, Umbria and Como lake, same as the Swiss, while Germans concentrate on the Garda lake. British buyers can also be found in the south, especially in Puglia. Here, prices have increased by 1.6% in the last year, registering the best performance, followed by Sicily (+1.5%) and Tuscany (+1.2%).

“Buying a house in these villages can cost even double the national average prices – explains Ghisolfi – the coast of Liguria has the most beautiful and expensive old villages of Italy, like Cervo in the province of Imperia. The price here is about 3,900 euro/Sq m, over the double the national average of properties in Italy. Concerning lakes, in Gardone Riviera, on the Garda lake, the average prices are 2,500 euro/Sq m. On the Como lake, in Tramezzina, a municipality of 5 thousand people born from the fusion in 2014 of Lenno, Mezzegra, Ossuccio and Tremezzo, prices are over 3 thousand euro/Sq m”.

Villages appeal tourists who look for historic houses and don’t pay much importance to services and comfort. “They often buy properties to rent – explains Fabiana Megliola from Tecncasa -, or they buy a house where to live all year long. For instance, Cipressa, Lingueglietta and Costarainera register the interest of French mostly, while Germans focus on the Garda and Iseo lakes”.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi