Residential real estate market Italy: which cities are most popular amongst buyers?

The post-pandemic situation, inflation and the energy crisis following the war in Ukraine do not seem to have seriously impacted the residential transaction figures for the first half of 2022 in Italy. In the first 6 months of 2022, 400,487 residential transactions were carried out, +10% compared to the same period in 2021. Gabetti's Studies Office has re-elaborated data from the Inland Revenue Agency to give its outlook on the residential real estate market in Italy's main cities in 2022. 

"Property purchases and sales have not disappointed operators' expectations and for the time being they have withstood the shock," comments Marco Speretta, General Manager of the Gabetti Group, "also thanks to a number of factors that have driven the sector. A first driver is to be found in the fact that, faced with rising energy commodity prices and the awareness now assumed of the advantages induced by an energy-efficient property, families need to replace their home with a more sustainable option. This has most likely resulted in a large share of first home replacements having a positive impact on the residential property market in Italy. A second driver resides in the boost that, in this first half of the year, came mainly from the capitals and large cities (+10.4%) compared to smaller cities and towns (+7.7%), where the interest of both institutional and private investors are concentrated."

Residential sales in Italian cities

Among the cities recording a positive trend in house purchases and sales we note that:

• Milan grew by +17.5% in the first half of 2022. However, in Q2 of the year it ranks second to last among large cities with +3.8% compared to Q2 2021. The decline in Q2 is indicative of the fact that the combination of high sales prices, which in Milan are growing well above the national average, and rising mortgage interest rates, has slowed down residential sales.
• Palermo grew by +11.9% in the first six months of the year, gaining the most in the second quarter with +8.8% growth. In recent years, the city has invested heavily in the recovery and revitalisation of the historic centre, especially through the pedestrianisation of the two historical arteries that cross the historic centre (Via Roma and Via Maqueda). This, together with sales prices that are below the national average in Palermo, has rewarded the city in terms of buying and selling trends and property revaluation.
• Bologna continues to be a dynamic city with a very lively demand for purchases and sales, closing the first half of 2022 at +11.5% (in line with the trend in the second quarter). The city, which for years has been the largest tertiary centre in the north-east, has in recent years been affected by a high tourist demand that is increasingly directing investors towards buying for investment.
• Genoa is showing signs of dynamism in terms of residential properties bought and sold, closing the first half of the year with +5.2% compared to the same half of last year. Q2 was especially good, recording +6.5% compared to Q2 2021. The city is experiencing a moment of revival thanks to the regeneration of the Waterfront, affecting the stability of sales prices, after years of decline, and the liveliness of purchases and sales.
• Rome recorded an excellent performance in Q2 2022 with +11.1% (together with Bologna, it is the city that did best in Q2 2022), closing the semester with a +9% turnover of residential property.