The Enchanting World of Luxury Real Estate in Italy

Situated in the southern part of Europe, Italy is undoubted as many would say- one of the most popular and prepossessing tourist locations in the world. Its popularity can be ascribed to the fact that it has some of the most spectacular and picturesque landscapes on Earth supported by the record for the most number of UNO heritage-cultural sites. Luxury real estate in Italy is a very strong and vibrant industry across the entire region of Europe.

Italy’s towns and cities are known for being self-sufficient, democratic, and mutual distrust. Each and every town in the country differ from one another in terms of food, regional language and their other ultra-fine differences. Just like India, it may seem less like a single nation than a nation of diverse cultures.

The country enjoys a healthy population of 6.5 crores and its proximity to western Europe makes it a worthwhile destination for foreigners.  Italy’s residents enjoy a quality standard of living and exceedingly developed culture. There was a time when Italy's economy was dominated by agriculture but in the current age, tourism is predominant in the economy.

One can't stop talking about Italy! especially when it comes to talking about their delightful culture, their historical remains, Italian food, their beautiful wineries, ancient artefacts and natural attractions. The sweetheart of many frequent travellers, this country leaves no page unturned to make you fall in love with it right from the word go. Every region of Italy is different and charming in its own way and cuisines, making it a destination which is perfect for all. There are various things to experience as well as thousands of places to visit; which cant be.

Major cities in Italy to look at are Sienna, Rome, Milan, Livorno, Venice, Florence, Genoa, Palermo, Naples, Cagliari.

INVESTMENT IN ITALY LUXURY HOMES

Italy has always had success in attracting tourists who enjoy the country's exquisite food, history, culture and art. But even the richest citizens of Italy more often than not shop around for several years before making a confirmed decision to buy a residence in this part of the world. However, most investors who are strategic in nature, keep away from investing in Italy because of the housing crisis that goes on in this continent.

In spite of that, the trend has seen a major change in the past few years and is becoming an apt place to invest in again.

Various real estate agencies in Italy stated that potential buyers in their database from 7-8 years ago have all of a sudden started showing interest. Below are the key indicators which show how the coming few years will look like for the Italian real estate market.

BIG NEWS: Towns are being sold in Italy for just 1 Euro!

Tumbledown homes in small villages and towns of Italy are being sold to international buyers for just 1 euro since the year 2016. Although it doesn't come as a surprise because over the last forty years young people have been leaving their villages like "Mussomeli" to find work in the main city. Hence, abandoning the village. So, the offer to buy the house at 1 euro is expected to boost the real estate growth in these small towns as international buyers who want to make a sweet vacation spot for themselves in Italy will be quite intrigued by this offer. It all sounds dreamy but here is the catch, the interested clients will have to improve the condition of the worn-out building by repairing and restoring the property, which would be quite expensive. Moreover, there will be certain terms and conditions that the prospective buyer needs to comply with. Also, they are required to make a renovation plan within a time frame of three years and present it to the town council. Along with this a submission of insurance deposit which will cost around 5000 euros.

A struggling economy

No doubt that Italy's economy was already performing quite sluggishly in the period between 2001 to 2007 but after the pandemic hit in 2019 the economy has just shown a serious downward trend miserably on the graph. Sadly the country is under recession and except (food and medicine) sectors no other sector is allowed to function at this point of time under government orders. A lot of forecasts suggest that the economy is expected to shrink by 7% or more this year.

The deficit in the budget has been around approximately 1.7%. Apart from that the unemployment rate and consumer prices have increased by a marginal percentage.

Banking sector tragedy

The current pandemic has ensured to not allow Italy's banking sector to improve its space at all. Banks are in a situation where they are in need of dire help to rescue them. The banks have been acquiring loans for forever now. It's just piling up. If that wasn't enough the country's public debt to GDP ratio is the 2nd highest among other countries in its Continent which is almost 135% now, up by approximately 4%.

Monetary incentives

In the year 2017, the Italy government introduced a new tax scheme wherein the individuals who establish a home in the country will get flat annual tax option on income which is earned in some other foreign country to Italy and approximately 25000 in euros. This tax regime has got acquired a lot of attention from buyers in other continents as well as the Italian expatriates. Along with this, the Italian government has also made sure to bring in attractive measures for people who will retire to southern Italy along with an exemption from tax monitoring

City wise price variations

Centro Studi di Abitare Co's data suggests that the most expensive city to purchase property in is Milan. The rates for housing have risen by almost 6.7% to 5700 euros per square metre last year.

Italy's capital city Rome's price rose to 5200 euros from 0.91% per square metre in the year 2019.

Coming to Turin, the rates have increased by 1.5% to 4700 euros per square metre. This city is the chocolate capital of Italy.

Last year Rome and Milan combined accounted for one-third of the housing market. Also in Milan, it just takes 2.5 months to sell a house, which is by far the shortest time taken by any city in Italy as compared to other cities like Turin, Florence, Bologna, Naples, Palermo, etc.

WHERE TO INVEST

As per our discussion above the best cities from an investment point of view have been narrowed down to two:

• Milan
• Rome

The demand for the cities has certainly seen big spikes over the years. Another city which doesn't stand much behind in the race has to be Venice. This is because the overall trends suggest that Europe has a lot to offer in terms of convenient-urban living and a bunch of revenue opportunities by way of opting for short-term rentals.

According to a report by Forbes, Naples is an upcoming destination to make major investments in, as there was a fifteen per-cent increase in the sales last year. This historic city has a warm climate and is closely located to Rome. Moreover, it is also in proximity to two islands making it a popular opinion but often ignored by the states in the northern parts.

The methods that were used by the real estate agents to give a virtual tour are still in use. The only difference now is that everything is local as foreign demand has declined due to the pandemic as it is linked to the tourism industry of Italy.

SOME OF THE TOP REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS

Luxury real estate in Italy is boosted by the fact that there are some of the best luxury real estate developers and luxury real estate agents in Italy. A few of the noted ones are as follows:

LIONARD LUXURY REAL ESTATE

In the national and international real estate market, Lionard Luxury Real Estate is a reference company in the brokerage and sale of luxury and prestige properties located in the most beautiful locations in Italy. More than 2000 are the carefully selected properties, capable of distinguishing themselves for particular and rare historical-artistic, architectural and landscape features.

TT & Partners - Servizi Immobiliare

Born from the idea of motivated professionals Taccogna Antonio and Tucci Francesco who through their experience in this sector they have combined their skills in order to give customers a satisfying service. Pitching itself as an ideal consultant with a range of solutions that respond to the client requirements: from private individuals--companies--public investors. Services provided: brokerage service in the sale, rental purchase of residential properties; technical-legal advice during the evaluation, appraisal, management of negotiations and contractual phases; financial assistance in asset management and in getting loans; designing services for architects, interior designers and professionals in the sector for renovation/furnishings.characterize their services. To be able to predict future scenarios, maintaining the standards, they collaborate with established professionals, in a nutshell, managing well to qualitatively implement the real estate offer basket for sale or rent.

Apartments Florence Srl

This Luxury real estate agency in Italy was established in the year 2007 by a group of motivated professionals. This real estate agency manages nearly 400 properties in the city Florence. Founders: Lorenzo Fagnoni,  Ana, Niccolò Degli Alessandri.

Immobili Servizi Immobiliari