Looking for Bid vs Asking Price Experience

from our own experience's buying and selling in milano etc in towns/cities there is generally more of a market than in more rural areas as italians tend to buy more in towns therefore more competition..  generally,there are fewer people on the ladder of having to sell to buy than you would find in say the uk as a very high proprtion of the country own their own homes.this means often sellers very often are not so much in a fluster to sell and may tend to wait for their asking price.However given the crisis it might be that you could make a good offer.one of the best ways would be to ask around in the immediate vicinity to find going prices wherever this place is.My sister in law has just sold and bought again in northern italy and the variation with respect to her selling and buying was only a difference of around Euro 5.000 on her selling and buying price.good luck.  

Bologna´s real estate prices are normally high and I agree with Sebastiano that you may get more of a difference in some rural areas. It all depends on the property and its location. Compare prices with other townhomes for sale in the area.

Unlike the UK that has a number of established house price series, Nationwide, Halifax etc. there is nothing similar in Italy although a few property agents and consultants do produce their own numbers but these tend to be of limited scope. Its generally thought, however, that property prices have held up fairly well. Maybe falling in the region of 4-8% over the last eighteen months but that is really a guess and covers a very diverse spectrum.  What has fallen quite a bit, however, is the actual number of transactions taking place. This may be the case of sellers holding out for their asking price or having unrealistic asking prices (20% up is common) and buyers happy to sit with what they consider to be fair offers. Either way, it should give you some leverage (more so if you are buying a new build). The other factor to think about is the currency. Although the pound has been hitting nine months highs recently against the euro it is still substantially weaker than its level of two years ago. This has taken a number of potential UK buyers out of the market so should give you a little more room for manoeuvre.