For many investors and buyers the real estate market trend is an interesting topic to follow. Based on statistics provided by the Italian National Council of Notaries, here you will find an analysis of the Italian housing market over the past 10 years here.
The total number of house sales in Italy provides insight into housing demand. Sales reached a low in 2016 following the global economic crisis triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in the US. From 2008 to 2016, new construction declined sharply. Prices fell for a full eight years. New construction offers much less price flexibility compared to the private home market. Consequently, many projects went unsold during those years, creating an oversupply of new homes. Many construction companies unexpectedly encountered financial difficulties, and new construction virtually ground to a halt. Private home sales gradually recovered, and from 2016 to 2020, sales finally began to rise.
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| annual number of house sales in Italy |
In 2020, the year of the covid-19 pandemic, sales declined. The residential market declined, primarily due to banks issuing few mortgages. The vacation home market held up relatively well because it is less dependent on financing. |
| annual number of sales of holiday homes in Italy |
To give the construction sector an extra boost, the Super Bonus, a subsidy for renovations in the form of a tax credit, was introduced in 2020. The result was a spectacular increase in the number of sales of homes requiring renovation in the very lowest price range in 2021. |
| number of house sales per year by price segment in Italy |
As a result, the construction sector was overwhelmed with demand for renovations, quickly making it impossible to find a construction company willing to take on a renovation project on short notice. The exceptional sales figures for low-priced homes in 2021 had a major impact on supply, which plummeted. Moreover, the super bonus was only extended for a maximum of one year at a time. As a result, sales of homes requiring renovation declined over the next two years, partly due to limited supply and partly because the construction sector could not meet the demand for renovations. Meanwhile, the new construction sector had also rebounded to meet the growing demand for housing after the Covid-19 pandemic.In 2022, mortgage interest rates doubled in one year, from 2.25% to 4.5%. This caused residential sales to decline, while sales of vacation homes, as we often saw in the past, held steady.
In 2024, the super bonus was abolished. The construction sector gradually caught up. Interest rates fell, and as a result, sales returned to general growth across all price ranges.
Finally, a word about the prices of sold holiday homes. The graphs below show the number of holiday home sales in each price range.
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| sales of holiday homes in Italy in the lower price range |
We see that most sales are in the lower price range up to €100,000, followed by the €100,000 to €200,000 range. This means that house hunting for holiday home buyers is primarily focused on these segments. So keep in mind that if you're looking for a home in this price range, you'll need to be very proactive: competition with other buyers is fierce. This is especially true when you see the ratio of supply to the total number of transactions per price range. |
| supply and demand ratio per price segment |
In the mid-price range, from €200,000 to €400,000, you'll find that houses stay on the market a little longer. The number of sales is relatively low. In 2024, in this price range only 21,000 privately owned homes were sold, and fewer than 15,000 were sold by (construction) companies.  |
| sales of holiday homes in Italy in the higher price range |
In the higher price ranges, it's notable that sales of very expensive homes over €1,000,000 are primarily driven by (construction) companies. For private owners of expensive holiday homes, the conclusion is that selling their homes isn't easy. As a buyer, you likely have more negotiating power for an expensive home that's been on the market for a while.
Contact Italy House Hunting for more statistics on the real estate market. We're happy to share this information with our clients.
