How does Italy real estate market feel and who have an opportunity to breathe the air of this country, when coming out from own house? Spending only 5 minutes, you'll learn about 5 Jolly trends and become a real expert in Italy.
1. Dolce Vita, or how can wine help to fight with crisis
"The option of purchasing for your own or for realization of dreams about beautiful life are the anchor which holds Italian market from pricing drift towards Croatia and Greece"
Italian economy has waked up after the crisis but not in its best mood. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi plans to reduce state costs to avoid EU’s anger and to simplify hiring and firing procedures for big business, which might help to fight against unemployment. Workers did not wait with their answer: they arranged protests and even threw eggs at the car of Prime Minister.
Country may be saved by wine, cheeses, national cuisine, culture, architecture and etc., all that distinguishes Italy from other countries and called in two words – Dolce Vita. Right minded ones won’t invest in property in Italy and expect a quick return of this investment. And if you decided to buy an apartment, rent it out and earn money, forget about it right now. Today the option of purchasing for your own or for realization of dreams about beautiful life are the anchor which holds Italian market from pricing drift towards Croatia and Greece.
2. Is it time to go home? Or dreams about apartments
"For dolce vita lovers it is not significant any more. Currently in trend are cities" (photo: Ponte di Rialto in Venice)
For us Italy means Rome, behind which are laying villas of Tuscany and Sardinia, ancestral homes and farmhouses with vineyards ... It is not that the charm of rural life in Italy was lost but for dolce vita lovers it is not significant any more. Currently in trend are cities: the capital Rome, fashionable Milan, refined Florence and romantic Venice.
For the first time in recent years the number of requests for property in Rome has increased, the growth of transactions is fixed in Milan and Florence. Luxury housing in Venice is also selling well. Good demand caused stable prices (and they are not supposed to grow yet). This is about €3,000-8,000 per sq. m. depending on the proximity to the city center. In the provinces situation is different: prices continue declining and buyers are waiting until they become even smaller so the number of transactions is not so big.
3. Russian choice: in Italy or back to Russia?
"The Russians still are significant players, but today almost do not pay attention on villas worth more than €5 million, asking something less expansive"
It is clear that today the real estate prices in rubles increased in Italy. Let’s imagine that you want to buy property in Liguria for €1 million (San Remo, an area of 200 sq.m, sea view). In November 2013 it worth 44 million rubles, and today it’s for 57 million already. Before the Ukrainian crisis, the Russians were third in foreign purchases of real estate in Italy, after the British and the Germans. They still are significant players, but today almost do not pay attention on villas worth more than €5 million, asking something less expansive.
Liguria, Sardinia and Tuscany – three regions that traditionally considered to be interesting for wealthy Russians. Russians are the second (passing ahead the Italians themselves), in purchasing real estate in Liguria along with the residents of other CIS countries, however in Sardinia they are the fourth (after the Italians, Britons and Scandinavians), and in Tuscany they are not even among the top five, according to the latest data of Knight Frank. Moreover, in the last six months, realtors increasingly complain that the Russians started selling their housing, but to find a buyer for this property is not an easy task. Who has an extra €10 million?! Such offers usually spent two years or even more on the market, patiently waiting for new owners.
4. The English speaking Italy
"But having made a stopover on their way to Europe in the same "Greece" or "Portugal", the Chinese will soon learn what Italian Dolce Vita means" (photo: Milan)
A holy place is never empty, while the ruble is falling against the euro, the pound and dollar get stronger, therefore the British and the Americans get a kind of discount for real estate in Italy. And I must say, they really enjoy it. Britons are already the first to purchase housing in Tuscany (including Florence), where they have surpassed even the locals, and they are the second after the Italians in Rome, Sardinia and the northern lakes (Garda, Como, Maggiore, etc.). The Americans with their commercial mindset are focused on the capital, where they are the fourth.
So far, in the popular regions of Italy dominated Americans and Europeans (apart from the British, these are the Dutch, Belgians, less are French and Germans), but Asian wave will certainly reach this market. Unlike Greece or Portugal, Italy does not provide the right for a long stay (residence permit) based on purchasing of expensive housing, so the Chinese still avoid investing in local real estate. But having made a stopover on their way to Europe in the same "Greece" or "Portugal", they will soon learn what Italian Dolce Vita means.
5. Commercial Property in Italy is "in demand" among foreigners
"The Albanians prefer to build, and the natives of faraway Bangladesh are mainly specialized on tourism and, unsurprisingly for Asians, on communications" (photo: Bolzano in South Tyrol)
If you failed to earn on apartment renting, making money in Italian business sector is still possible. Foreigners already own 325,000 small businesses, and it is now the time when you can buy them for a song: Italian businessmen got ruined and are ready to get rid of assets in exchange for crispy euros.
Most foreign businessmen came in Italy from Morocco, China, Albania and Bangladesh. It’s interesting that the Albanians prefer to build, and the natives of faraway Bangladesh are mainly specialized on tourism and, unsurprisingly for Asians, on communications. In Italy business goes better at the north of the country, this is proved by figures: Florence and Milan are frontrunners in the number of companies with foreign owners.
Text: Kyril Ozerov, ee24.com
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