The latest report from idealista/data unveils the top 10 Italian neighbourhoods garnering significant interest among prospective homebuyers. Once again, the Eternal City takes the spotlight, with Rome claiming three coveted spots on the podium: Centro, Prati, and Appio Latino. Surprisingly absent from the list are areas in Milan, while cities like Bologna and Verona make their mark. The idealista/data report, assessing demand-to-supply ratios across the nation, offers valuable insights into the real estate landscape in Italy during the first quarter of 2024. Let's take a closer look at the most popular neighbourhoods to buy a house in Italy so far in 2024.
Top 10 most sought-after neighbourhoods in Italy for buying a home
Italy's capital city of Rome is confirmed as a residential market on the rise (as also confirmed by a recent study by Savills). The podium of the most sought-after neighbourhoods to buy a home in Italy in the first quarter of 2024 is all Roman. In first position we find the Capital's Centre, which totals a relative demand index of 9.5. This is closely followed by Prati (9.3) and Appio Latino (7.3) in third place. This comes after Rome was also named the most popular city for renting in Italy.
Just off the podium is the Golosine-Santa Lucia district in Verona, with a relative demand index of 6.9. This is followed by Garbatella-Ostiense in Rome (6.1); Costa Saragozza in Bologna (5.7); Navile-Bolognina and Murri in Bologna with Parioli in Rome (all with an index of 5.4); and then a trio formed by the Roman district of Nomentano-Tiburtino, together with Borgo Milano and Borgo Venezia in Verona with a relative demand index of 5.1.
The situation in the rest of Italy
The report by idealista/data was implemented through the relative demand index, an indicator that synthesises the pressure of demand on supply in every area of Italy for the segment of houses for sale. The indicator is based on the number of contacts (contacts via email and shares) received per listing.
The study, in detail, focused on the listings published on idealista, the leading real estate portal for technological development in Italy. The report examined the available data for the Municipalities that have listings with an average asking price of over 875 euros per square metre and for which there is a stock of property listings for sale of over 975 units on idealista (and more than 50 for rent).
The first Southern neighbourhood we find in the ranking is the Historic Center of Naples, another area on the rise due to a renewed tourist vocation steadily increasing in recent years (it totals an index of 5), followed by Poetto-Quartiere del Sole in Cagliari and Litorale Leccese (4.9). To find the first Milanese neighbourhood, however, you have to go down to the twenty-seventh position, where we find Forlanini (3.9).
The most expensive neighbourhoods to buy a house in Italy
The absence of Milan among the top positions in the ranking of the most sought-after neighbourhoods to buy a house in Italy makes quite a stir. However, it should be noted that Milan records the highest prices per square metre for sales throughout Italy, making the Milanese market virtually inaccessible for a good portion of society, to the extent that many workers with employment in the city direct their searches towards the hinterland or other neighbouring municipalities.
To understand how challenging it is to approach the Milanese market, consider that a whopping 4 out of the 10 most expensive neighbourhoods in Italy by average selling price are located in Milan. The top spot is occupied by Milan's Historic Center (average asking price 1,399,000 euros), followed by two other Lombard districts, specifically in Como: Centro-Lago Occidentale (980,054 euros) and the Historic Centre (917,720 euros).
The only two Roman neighbourhoods in the top 10 are the city centre district in fourth position (843,624 euros) and Parioli in eighth position (724,813 euros). In fifth and sixth positions, we find two more Milanese districts: Garibaldi-Porta Venezia (760,729 euros) and Fiera-De Angeli (742,368 euros). Porta Vittoria, also in Milan, occupies the tenth position (644,090 euros). The most expensive district in the South is Posillipo-Chiaia-San Ferdinando in Naples (680,714 euros).