The Italian Property Market in 2019

Following political instability during 2017, the Italian property market has started to bounce back, helped by interest rate reductions on mortgages. So what is the outlook for the Italian property market for 2019?

Overseas property investors have been attracted back to the Italian property market over the past year, led by buyers from the UK, Germany, and America.

The most popular areas for overseas property investors seem to be Puglia, the lakes and northern Tuscany, where property prices remain affordable relative to the major Italian cities.

However, cities have seen strong property price growth that appears to be continuing, attracting overseas and domestic property investors alike.

Italian Cities

Florence, Venice and Milan attract buyers for their rental yields as much as the lifestyle or cultural attractions that they offer.

Venice tops the list of Italian cities for yields due to it exceptional tourist rental market. Property prices are rising again in the popular districts as a result.

Milan has seen increased global attention since the 2015 Expo and is now moving into positive growth in 2019 following years of negativity, while Florence also attracts a much more international market than the capital, Rome.

The Italian Lakes

The Italian lakes – Como, Maggiore, Garda – are also in demand when it comes to Italian property, and lesser well-known lakes are beginning to be discovered by overseas property investors – Lake Iseo and Trasimeno showed increases in enquiries, according to local agents. Prices are moving up in the hotspot stretches but are more static in the less popular parts of these lake areas.

Tuscany

The Tuscany region of Italy continues to be popular, though more affordable parts such as Lunigiana seem to be attracting attention rather than the traditional central areas.

Le Marche

For those buyers looking for even bigger bargains Le Marche is an area that has become especially fashionable over the past couple of years for its beautiful farmhouses and hilltop village homes that are a fraction of comparable properties in Tuscany and within closer distances of beaches too.

Puglia

Another affordable area attracting attention is Puglia, again blessed with sun-drenched villages within striking distance of two coastlines. The average property enquiry for an international buyer there is €195,000 and the most popular area is Salento in the south, that attracts more interest at that price range for Italian property than any other single location in Italy during 2018.

Southern Italy

Calabria, Sardinia and Sicily are other areas of southern Italy that attract steady if less high-volume interest.

Exclusive areas such as Porto Cervo (in Sardinia), Capri (Amalfi Coast) and Taormina in Sicily command prices way above their rural neighbours, the result of being glamorous global brands.

The same can also be said of summer playgrounds such as Portofino in Liguria, on the Italian Riviera in the north of the country.

It seems that whatever political instability affects Italy, the Italian property market will always attract investors buying into the unique food, landscape and lifestyle of Italy.