9474 What's the buying market like at the moment

from someone involved in selling can add some comments

first the Italian economy... its most probably as bad if not worse here than anywhere else... the new government will inherit figures that suggest inflation at a published level of around 3.3 % ...although consume groups here say the real figure or what consumers actually are feeling is 5.9 % ...growth estimates are down to 0.5 % and the debt despite Italians being the highest tax in Europe is still somewhere above the EU limits although no one can be actually sure of by how much....

so in that sense italians should be dropping prices to sell more quickly... but they seem fairly stubborn in that respect and despite explanations to them that the pound is no longer as competitive against euro rates as before a suggestion that they might well like to knock 20 % off prices is met with stony stairs to say the least and the myth of the English pound making all property in Italy no matter how absurdly priced good value still persists .... they don't seem to realise even that dollar buyers are just not able to meet their aspirations as they once used to

the thing we see with clients now is that they are looking more at houses with a lower starting cost... but also not blindly thinking of ruins... and remote non serviced locations.. they are much more cautious about value for money and maybe less holiday moodish in their attitude when spending hard earned cash...

so i would say there is a bit of a drop in numbers and that people are showing more sense about what they can afford...the latter to my mind is good news... there is still value and bargains to be had ... the higher priced properties were always slow anyway and you will find that these can be often carried for a period of years ... say above the e500,000 mark... but it has always been that way here..

to me what that says is to the buyer with investment plans for the future and buying property to restructure is to keep the size and the scope of the work down...because its difficult to recuperate those sorts of costs... if you do want to play the market in that sense or are even stretching yourself to a dangerous level where you might just have to resell then choose a property that will also be able to be sold to a local Italian market and restore the property in a way that will make it desirable to both the foreign and Italian market...

despite the official figures there is such a large amount of seemingly unaccounted for wealth here that there does not seem to be any slow down in Italians doing new builds or even moving... although second homes on the coast are suffering in that respect...but city apartments or suburb villas are still getting sold at near enough the asking prices...

so to my mind little has changed as yet... here in Italy... but UK buyers are acting with retraint and common sense.. and choosing houses that are priced well and in reasonable condition ... and taking more time with that choice...

Southern Umbria (Calvi/Otricoli area) appears to be enjoying a veritable property boom - they are throwing up beautiful, large villas and townhouses on the fringes of both towns like nobody's business. Not cheap, but there are clearly buyers queuing up (mostly italian).

From our own business I can say that buyers from within the €-zone are still around. UK buyers are still looking at the lower-priced properties, which means under €450,000 here in Umbria, but enquiries for anything over €600,000 are slow.

Having just given our deposit on another house in Sardinia, I found the best way for me was to set in my own mind a fair price to pay for the house and then work out the difference in current exchange rate, and a resonable rate (1.45 in my opinion) and offer less the difference in the exchange rate. I suppose the current financial climate is always handy as bargaining tool, considering there are probably not to many English looking to buy at the moment. I have then got all my quotes in for building work but will not be giving the go ahead to them until the rates improve. ( Which im told will be in the following months, I.E Holiday season when the bulk of Pound - Euro Exchanges take place thus getting the money moving about again

[quote=craigandleigh;88847] until the rates improve. ( Which im told will be in the following months, I.E Holiday season when the bulk of Pound - Euro Exchanges take place thus getting the money moving about again[/quote]

Sorry I cannot see that happening if the Bank of England goes ahead with more rate cuts.Gordon Brown needs that more ever now after the local election results.

Can't find the thread but Sally posted a link to an article about buying property in Sardinia and Siclly recently. (Homes World??). The article may not have mentioned that once Ragusa has an airport, property prices will no doubt escalate and perhaps there will be considerable development there. So perhaps a good investment now? Does Ronald have a view on this being a native?

I feel it to be a little arrogant for anyone to think that because te Euro has become stronger that Euro countries should be expected to offer lower prices.

When our Sterling was strong nobody was complaining about the bargains to be had due to the exchange rate.

However, for people looking to sell up and move abroad full time, yes, there is a problem as property is simply not moving in many parts of the UK.

That said I believe many will be willing to cut their losses as their wish is to leave and there is no point waiting years with the uncertainty of gaining a few points.

The problem is that some properties in the EU may be overvalued. In Spain, it has been officially said that certain properties are overvalued by as much as 20%. I guess that in Italy we may have a similar situation. It should not affect all properties, though, only certain areas which saw prices climbing madly fairly recently without a reason.

I think it really depends on the area...in Monferrato prices are still reasonable, although there are ot a lot of avialable properties anymore....not many english buyers, it is mainly Italians for the time being.

Paola

What NOBLE says is right - to a certain extent. the Ryanair effect will undoubtedly have an impact on prices and availability of property in the catchment zone, and within limits it has already started. The other thing that this corner of Sicily has going for it, excluding the usual weather, food, locals points is that a) the new Sicilian presidnet is a Catanese, which means there will be much more money poured into this zone now, instead of Palermo-side and b) there is a distinct move to make Sicily the meeting point of the Med. Within easy reach of the Middle East, Africa and Europe, the 5 star hotels which are springing up are not for affluent tourists, but business customers. While Forte are battling on to build a complex near agrigento,the south east of the island has no problems with organised crime - and we have 2 new golf courses, private air strip as well as the new Comiso airport coming online. The wealth of important property on the market makes it a desirable location for companies as well as individuals. To all of this you must add the huge European grants for development which means that foregin companies are queuing up to buy and build.
The worrying factor is that the locals think all tourism is good tourism and have yet to be persuaded that Sicily will always be a destination for culture vultures and not the bucket and spade brigade. The more the coastline gets cemented over, the fewer affluent, gastronomic, history and art lovers will come - and then Sicily will have shot itself in the foot. However, on balance - Sicily is a good place to invest. The housing market here is not cyclical as in other countries, but as in the rest of Italy has seen steady inflation linked growth year on year for decades - and if you discount the hot spots - prices are reasonable if slowly coming into line with the rest of mainland Italy. What Sicilians do,which is anathema to foreigners, is put the property on the market for a price, and if it doesnt sell quickly, to up the price to take into account inflation and general costs.

I have seen properties that were once not negotiable now available for 20% less. Thats the agent telling me and its not one agency either.

Interestingly, I had a chat with an agent last night. He told me which properties were being sold due to interest rate increase pressure.

For me I certainly see a price drop. Its just a shame the weak pound eliminates the benifit (unless you do a Euro mortgage and bank on the exhange rates improving).