Bari is the city with the highest increase in sales in the first quarter of 2018

24 June, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno

Bari leads the national chart of transactions for the first quarter of 2018 with a +13.1%, way more than the national average of 4.3%, having this slowed down from last year. Sales have been 777 against the 687 of the first quarter of 2017. The Bari property market is in good shape, to the point that it made up for the fewer transactions completed in 2017 in comparison with the national average. It might be the signal of a positive economic phase, thanks to the growth of tourism that has favoured the investments, especially in modern hotels, as it’s happening in Florence and Rome.

Tourism might also be the reason for the extraordinary growth of the Naples market, which comes second with +11.8% (1,855 sales against the 1,659 of the same period of 2017), according to Tecnocasa based on the data gathered by the Revenue Agency.

However, the growth reported at the beginning of 2018 has been influenced by the trend of the previous months. In fact, that might be the only explanation for the disappointing performance registered by Milan, with only a 0.9% increase, and 5,496 sales against the 5,447 of the same quarter of 2017. The Milan property market is thriving nevertheless. We have to keep in mind that a slowdown can follow a phase of steady growth and conversely. On the other hand, if we exclude Bari and Naples, the transactions have reduced in Rome (-1.19%), Florence (-1.9%), Genoa, Bologna, and Verona. Rome and Bologna confirm the negative trend also reported in the last quarter of 2017. Palermo is recovering (+1.7%), after a negative performance in the fourth quarter. Perhaps, thanks to tourism?

Therefore, the recession doesn’t concern the number of transactions, thanks to a 4.3% growth on average. However, to leave the crisis behind, prices have also to improve. They seem to be going toward stability, but they’re still decreasing in some cities, even though by very little. Prices are rising only in the main cities, especially in the prime areas. This trend doesn’t concern dated properties, despite the tax reliefs granted for the renovation works.

It’s not possible to monitor the property market trend for the touristic sector in the first quarter of 2018. At present, it’s only possible to assume that there is a high demand for holiday houses for rent in Puglia and Basilicata. While for what concerns sales, we must consider the trend reported in the second part of 2017 by Tecnocasa, when prices were still decreasing. “The figures vary a lot: -1.1% for beach destinations, +0.2% for lake ones, and -1.5% for mountain. Since 2008, beach destinations have lost 39.6% of their value, lake ones 28.3% and mountain 31.7%.

Sales for holiday houses have increased by 6.2% and investments for rental by 18.5%, even though there is now a growing interest towards buying a property. Prices have been decreasing since the second part of 2017. The regions that reported a slight recovery are Veneto (+2.7%) and Sicily (+0.9%). Campania, Basilicata and Molise are stable. Negative trend for Emilia-Romagna (-0.2%), Puglia (-0.8%), and Sardinia (-0.4%). Foreign investors confirm their interest in properties in Italy, especially in Campania, Sicily, Liguria, and Puglia between Polignano, Valle d’Itria and Salento, ideally with a sea view.

Source: La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

The residential market is accelerating: +6.3% for transactions in the fourth quarter of 2017

12 March, Milano Finanza

The residential market has reported another acceleration at the end of 2017 and it has continued to grow for the eleventh quarter in a row. The commercial sector has also performed well (+2.8%). This is what emerges from the quarterly report by the Revenue. More in detail, in the least quarter of 2017, transactions for houses have been 152,608, +6.3% compared to the same period of 2016. The acceleration in sharper in non-provincial capitals (+6.7%), while the growth of provincial capitals has been equal to +5.5%. The average surface hasn’t substantially changed, setting around 106 Sq m. Among the eight main Italian cities, Florence (+11.8%) and Milan (+9.1%) have reported an above average growth, while Turin and Genoa have reported respectively +7.7% and +6.1%. Napoli has grown by 4%. Whereas Rome (-1.3%), Palermo (-6.1%) and Bologna (-4.2%) have reported negative performances, confirming the negative trend of the previous quarter. The market for parking spaces has recovered with a 3.8% growth. In this case, Central Italy is in countertrend, with transactions decreased by 2.5%. Concerning the non-residential market, in the fourth quarter of 2017, the transactions for commercial and service spaces has grown by 9.2%, especially in the Centre and in the North-East. Transactions for offices have slightly decreased (-0.3%), mainly impacted by the performance of the North-East (-11.3%), while shops have grown by 13.2%. Industrial properties have also registered a positive performance (+2.8%), even though decelerating in comparison with the previous quarter (14.3%). The analysis of the macro areas shows a neat difference between the North which is growing and the South and the Islands, where transactions have decreased. The Centre has remained stable.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Orion Capital and HB Capital have sold Gran Shopping Mongolfiera to CBRE Global Investors

20 February, Bebeez

The fund Orion Income Return Partners managed by Orion Capital Managers together with HB Capital has sold the shopping arcade Gran Shopping Mongolfiera in Molfetta (Bari) to CBRE Global Investors. The sellers have been assisted in the operation by the real capital market team of JLL Italia.

The shopping centre is entirely leased to international brands and it’s the leader in its catchment area represented by 540,000 people in a distance of thirty minutes by car. Inaugurated in March 2008, Gran Shopping Mongolfiera rises on an area of 150,000 Sq m, 42 thousand of which are covered. It features many shops and a big parking lot.

Unlike the traditional shopping centres, it was built in order to provide, besides the typical walk along the shops, also an actual meeting point. The commercial areas are gathered in clusters, each defined by paths that lead to the three big squares: Onda, Nave and Ottagono which are dedicated to entertainment.

Besides the Ipercoop supermarket, the heart of the shopping centre with a surface of 7 thousand Sq m, the merchandising selection is of the highest quality with 110 shops between outlets for beauty and care, house products, electronics and telephone shops and fashion.

The services include a parking lot with 2,500 parking spaces, several restaurants, a hairdresser salon, washrooms, a playground from the kids with qualified assistance, a dry cleaner, an alteration shop, ATM, and a travel agency.

Source: Bebeez

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Properties sell in Catanzaro in 8 months and with discounts over 20%

12 February, Il Sole 24 Ore

Residential transactions in Catanzaro continue their growth trend started at the end of 2016. However, negotiations are still rather lengthy. The times to sell a property average a little more than 8 months, while the average discount applied is still high. In fact, in the second part of 2017, the discount reached 18.5% on average, with some peaks of 20-30% against a national average of 14.5%. In Catanzaro, the demand concentrates in two- and three- rooms apartments with dimensions not bigger than 100 Sq m. Explains Marco Ferragina, real estate agent for Prefessione Casa – “It’s more difficult closing sales for bigger apartments, where there is a market, but prices are still too high compared to the purchasing power. From this point of view, 2018 might be the right year to see prices fall also for this type of property”. The most dynamic areas, for purchasing as well as for renting, are still the same that were reported in the previous semesters: on top of the list, there is the old town, the northern part of the city (Giardini, Stadio and Pontepiccolo) and the coastal area. The university is located in this latter, and there is an increased demand from private investors buying 3-3 room apartments in Germaneto and Catanzaro Lido to rent to university students.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Bari, the market is dynamic

09 February, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno

The outlook for the real estate market is positive, even though it’s still advisable to be cautious. Sales are doing well, especially for prime properties in big cities, despite the growth is not strong enough to change the price trend, still decreasing or remaining unchanged. Unlike Europe, where prices are growing by an average of 5% every year. Hence, there is the impression that sales so far have been the result of low selling prices and convenient interest rates. These two factors led to prefer purchasing (with a loan) over renting.

Bari reflects this national trend, as highlighted by Tecnocasa and Immobiliare.it. Concerning the retail and commercial sectors, after a worrying standstill due to the consumption reduction that forced many businesses to close down, we’re finally seeing a turnaround. This wasn’t really caused by the opening of new fashion stores (mostly temporary stores), rather by the opening of new pizza and fast food restaurants favoured by the attractivity of the city, thanks to the presence of offices and universities, hence catering to office workers and students.

The phenomenon of people moving to the city to work or to study has favoured not only the growth of commercial properties but also of properties in general, residential ones included. Especially in those areas of the city where there is a higher concentration of people moving from other towns. The trend makes hope for an increase in property prices up to 12%, as long as the market conditions don’t change, and the interest rates and prices remain at low levels. “Those homeowners that don’t lower their expectations will end up with their property unsold”, comments a real estate agent.

The expected increase of prices of 2% in Bari is justified by the fall of values (even by little) during 2016 and 2017, despite sales are rising (and therefore, the related demand).

To be honest, it will not happen all in one year, most likely this trend will extend also to the next one, and not in all the parts of the city. According to Tecnocasa, the most exclusive parts of the city centre will lead the growth, such as the so-called Umbertina area, or the old town between Piazza Mercadante and Via Venezia that faces on the sea, or the always very appreciated Via Sparano.

Prices will remain stable, rather than growing, in the less central neighbourhoods, especially those close to the university faculties. Properties here rent very easily, also in the form of single rooms to students, hence there is no risk to end up with a defaulting family in the property.

Whereas prices will not rise in those neighbourhoods that in the past had good potential. These are, for example, the Libertà and Madonnella areas. Here, low-income families and immigrants have recently started moving in, attracted by the low prices. This phenomenon includes also the commercial properties in the area.

Source: La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Italian retail aims at the South

11 December, Corriere della Sera

Investments for 1.23 billion for Italian retail. This is the amount registered for the current year so far, higher than the investments of 2015, but about 20% than the levels of 2016. According to the figures by Jones Lang La Salle, the high street operations have been ten since the beginning of the year. Milan has reported the biggest part of the volumes with four operations for a total value of 350 million. The 12 out of town transactions have concerned Southern Italy (Bari and Teramo) but they have touched the North as well, especially Emilia-Romagna, with the sale of the Le Befane shopping centre in Rimini.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Signs of recovery of the market all over Italy, but not in Bari

04 December, Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno

The sales are growing in numbers in the property market, but prices aren’t. The doubts on the recovery of the sector are explained by the experts that took part in the international meeting “Quo Vadis, casa?”, organised by the portal for real estate ads Idealista. This uncertainty is confirmed by the companies operating in the sector which expressed in a survey mixed feelings about the recovery in a near future. But not in general: many people surveyed have stressed the will of their clients to buy the first house together with its impossibility due to financial reasons, while others are avoiding investing in real estate due to the heavy taxation on properties.

This is the confirmation, therefore, of how the residential market is going through a phase that cannot be called of full recovery, but only of lower prices compared to the past years and of easier access to mortgages. But this doesn’t consider the difficult financial situation of many families and the lack of purchases for investment.

The event showed that the recovery is threatened by the bad loans secured by properties within banks. “The deregulated input in the market of properties put as guarantee of defaulting credits is a threat for the devaluation of properties. With the possibility for the banks to put on auction said properties, we’ll have a massive input of new supply that will contribute in devaluating the other properties and causing in this way the demand to decrease”, as it was observed.

Moreover, the same effect is obtained by the excessive taxation on properties, that “exceeded the threshold since 2011 in a situation of inefficient administration that can only increase this climate of uncertainty and instability, with a destructive effect on investors’ trust”.

Another sign of the recovery of real estate in Italy is the reduction of the average selling times, from the beginning of a negotiation to its conclusion and the consequent deed. In fact, in Italy, this average has gone in one year from 159 to 141 days. This is the sign that the desire to buy a house has grown as well as the possibility to do it.

Considering the reduction of selling times showed by Tecnocasa suggesting a recovery, it seems like the market in Bari is lazier than other parts of Italy. In fact, the city is at the last place in the chart of the main Italian cities. Times are stuck at 189 days, with a variation of 10%, more or less, depending on the area.

At the regional level of Puglia, the market is more dynamic in the provinces of Bari (167 days), Brindisi and Andria (126 days), Foggia (160 days), and Lecce (175 days).  The market is slower in the provinces of Barletta and Trani (both set around 198). Taranto is around the same level of Bari. These results depend also on the prices on the market: the lower they are, the easier is to buy (consequently in shorter times). However, this factor explains the long times in Bari but not those in Taranto, where the real estate market is penalised by some environmental issues such as Ilva.

Source: Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Luxury Spa hotels: Il Saraceno in Amalfi to the De Siano family from Ischia

14 November, Il Sole 24 Ore

The hospitality property market is thriving. In the pleasant autumn climate of the Amalfi coast, the rumours are all about the well-known family of hoteliers from Ischia, De Siano, which includes also the Senator Domenico De Siano. The family, in fact, bought for an amount around 30 million the Grand Hotel Saraceno in Amalfi, a Moorish-style hotel with a spectacular view of the sea. The De Siano family already owns four hotels in Ischia (Lacco Ameno): San Montano, San Lorenzo, ViIlla Svizzera, and La Reginella.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Property market: Puglia and Ostuni are the preferred destinations to buy a second house

30 October, Ostuni Live

Also for this year, the numbers published by the portals Casa.it and Gate-away.com confirm the trend of growth, especially for what concerns international buyers, when it comes to buying a second house in Puglia. 

Property sales in Puglia continue to grow, especially for the part concerning international investors. The region represents 5.9% of the Italian market, with over 30 thousand sales in 2016 and with an increase of 13% in the current year.

These data are confirmed by the 2017 report on the real estate market in Puglia, made by Scenari Immobiliari, in collaboration with Casa.it. The portal dedicated to international investors Gate-away.com also confirms the same trend.

Sales concern mostly second houses according to the 2017 dossier. According to Scenari Immobiliari, the transactions are expected to grow further by 3.3%. Therefore, Puglia registers a better trend than the other southern regions, with a more accentuate increase of sales till 2020, when transactions are expected to reach 36,500.

Mario Breglia, Scenari Immobiliari president, stated: “In Puglia, there is a high concentration of international investments. The average expense for a second house is close to 600 thousand euro, but higher investments for over one million euro are also frequent. Over the last ten years, the main touristic destinations in Puglia have shown an increase in sales by families from abroad equal to 242%”.

In the province of Brindisi, Ostuni, with 22.17% of the requests, is the favourite city where to buy a house for international buyers.

The report shows another interesting fact: international investors, especially Russians, British and Germans are particularly interested in buying houses in the countryside in farmhouses typical of the region, with an average expense close to 600 thousand euro.

Source: Ostuni Live

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

The cities queens of hospitality

21 October, Milano Finanza

Investments record for 1.1 billion euro (+28%)

The Italian hospitality sector continues to register positive signals that encourage the operators interested in managing and buying touristic facilities in the country”. The situation is presented by Filippo Mascellaro, Kensington Branch Manager and CEO (www.groupkensignton.com and www.immobili-luxury.com). The company is the advisor of important international clients operating in hospitality, such as RoccoForte Hotels, Mercury Group, Valamar Hotel, Room Mate, Juweira, Orbit, just to name a few. According to the latest analysis by Kensignton’s research department, this year the sector has grown on average by 9% with investments volumes reaching 1,142 million euro (+28% compared to 2016). What the requirements of the operators? “58% is focused on prime locations such as Milan, the most attractive city, followed by Rome, with 33% of preferences”, explains Mascellaro. “There is great interest also for Florence (27%) and Venice (16%). Among secondary cities, chosen by 17% of the investors, Verona comes first followed by Pisa. It’s not by chance that Tuscany is one of the most interesting regions concerning tourism, thanks to the rising demand from Italian and international tourists. Among beach destinations, 32% of the operators look at Tuscany and Liguria, while concerning mountain, with a demand around 15%, the most popular destinations are in Trentino and Dolomites”.

Nouveau riches like Southern Europe

In the last year, the group has managed transactions for 50 million, with important deals, especially in Rome and Milan. “The experience of 2017 has shown us that most of our investors prefer hotels with at least 100 rooms in AAA position and with a yearly return of minimum 6%. Our clients usually buy property and management”, explains Mascellaro. With eight branches (in Jeddah, Milan, Luxemburg, Changsha, London, New York, Mumbai, and Berlin), the objective for 2018 is to continue attracting investments in luxury properties in Italy. “This remains our core business”, confirms the CEO, even if he’s committed to reaching more and more international clients. “The opening of the Berlin office is a proof. Germany will be the source of many buyers interested in our country. At the same time, it will permit Italians to find again the passion for investing in residential properties for rental purposes, buying in cities like Berlin, which will be the protagonist at European level for the next years. Moscow will be our next destination, with the plan to open an office by 2020”, stresses Mascellaro. Who is buying at the moment? And more importantly, what do the new clients want? “They want a second house in Southern Europe. Spain, Italy, France, and Portugal have still great appeal on the wealthy buyers from Russia, Scandinavia, and China”, explains Mascellaro. All of them want easy access to at least one of the following activities: golf, ski, or beaches. “Italy has a special place in their preferences. The favourite is Costa Smeralda, where with one million euro they can buy 50 Sq m in Porto Cervo. But buyers are also looking for unique pieces at the best price in Maremma and Umbria, with prices around 6 thousand euro per Sq m. Last year, the area with the best performance concerning luxury properties was Como, where the George Clooney effect still continues and prices have risen by 3%”.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi