Why Invest in Property In Italy?
Italy offers superb beauty coupled with very good potential for capital growth on property investments in the Italian property market. More and more people are investing in Italian real estate - perhaps as a holiday property or second home; maybe to relocate or retire to, or as a holiday let investment. The numbers of house buyers are growing fast.
Latest price rises in key parts of Italy were above 22% but Italian property remains affordable and relatively cheap compared to that of other more established markets. Much of the rest of the country remains relatively unexplored by non-Italian buyers. In many of the more established tourist areas, like the lakes and Tuscany, property prices reflect the exclusivity. But on the plus side, there is an awful lot of Italy yet to be heavily marketed to tourists, which means prices can be surprisingly affordable. If you are prepared to be flexible about precise property location, even Liguria and well-visited areas like Lake Como in the north offer investment opportunities. Head further south to Calabria and explore the islands of Sicily and Sardinia; the beaches and countryside here can be fantastic and you can pick up aprtments for a song. In recent years new build developments have started to emerge in these newly accessible areas.
Many are also attracted by the outstanding natural beauty of the regions, the wonderful cuisine, the leisure facilities and the exceptionally low levels of crime. Pay no capital gains tax on property profits. Cut purchase costs by using residency. Italy is at the centre of the low cost flights revolution as seen by the cost of fares to Bologna, Pisa, Parma and Forli. Excellent road, rail and airport infrastructure. Very low council taxes. Not only is Italy Europe's leading reformer on property tax, it is also mainland Europe's premier job creator and offers great opportunities for the emerging market investor and the lifestyle buyer as well. Furthermore there has been a boom in the number of low cost airlines servicing many regional airports in Italy and this has opened up 'new' property markets to foreign investors.
The reasons can be the most different and each is modelled on the customer's needs:
- maybe it is the climate, which never reaches peaks of harsh cold or unbearable hot;
- maybe it is the diversification that, with its valleys and hills, offers the possibility to admire spectacular sunsets;
- maybe it is the agriculture, totally varied for each plot of land, offering a picturesque view, with the green of the grasses, the gold of the wheat and the sun-like colour of the sunflowers;
- maybe it is the culture: in our country and in the same environment it is easy to feel the intersection of the Etruscan, Latin, Mediaeval and modern culture;
- surely it is the "Italian style": our chaos, that differentiate us from the others, maybe making us unbearable and yet nice, which after all always works.