Country Guides Country Guide: Italy

Date Published:

30/05/2008

Italy is the European country that the discerning second homebuyer chooses for his place in the sun. One of the big six countries where Britons buy - Spain, France, Cyprus, Portugal and the USA are the others - Italy's enduring appeal is in its regional diversity, food, culture and its stunningly beautiful countryside.

Tuscany leads Italy's beauty stakes. Its blue-hued rolling hills tumble down to the cradle of the Renaissance, Florence, Siena and Pisa. House prices, while not cheap, are not astronomically expensive either. In the region of £250,000 will buy you a city apartment, bank on £400,000 and upwards for a villa with land, or £125,000 plus for a rural property in need of renovation.

'The days of bargain rural properties in Italy are certainly not over, though finding one in Tuscany (otherwise known as Chiantishire to many Britons) could prove a challenge,' says Adrian Bishop, editorial director of overseas property portal NewSkys. 'As the low-cost airlines continue their advance across Europe's regional airports, canny locals know that as soon as a route opens they can increase the price of their property.'

Tuscany's neighbour, Umbria, is a cheaper alternative. Its capital, Perugia, is a lively city of students and art, while Assisi is steeped in history and surrounded by hilltop towns. Up and coming Puglia on the Adriatic coast - driven by no frills airlines flying into the region - is one to consider before it gets too pricey.

'New areas currently finding their way onto the market include Sicily, Puglia, Le Marche, Abruzzo and Sardinia. Properties in these regions can be found from £20,000 up into the millions,' says Bishop. 'Those buying in the north of the country and around the Italian lakes can benefit from both the summer sun and winter ski seasons either for personal use or rental potential; generally, property prices drop the further south you go.'

Countrywide, house prices have risen 7.2 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2006, according to the Knight Frank Global House Price Index - down from a 10.8 per cent increase over the corresponding period 12 months earlier. Anecdotally, the Abruzzo region has seen strong price increases and growing foreign interest over the past year as no-frills airlines begin to service the region.

Chock full of unspoilt beaches along its 129-kilometre coastline, which stretches from Le Marche to Molise in the south, particularly attractive beaches can be found at Pescara and further south at San Vito and Fossacesia. The latter has a traditional fishing village feel in an area that to this day retains its 'backwater' way of life, working the land and sea.

Another 'newcomer' is the island of Sicily, which is opening up to foreign buyers, but be aware that the hitherto laissez faire attitude to officialdom in Sicily and Italy is changing. New finance laws have been enacted regarding the buying and selling of residential property between private individuals. Now, the buyer may declare the actual sales price in the notary act of sale, but pay taxes only on the re-valued cadastral value.

Steve Emmett of Italian agents Brian French & Associates explains the benefit for buyers. 'As the cadastral value is invariably much lower than the market value the system provides a sensible way of making the property market more transparent and will be invaluable in combating money laundering. It is long overdue regulation that will help to protect the property market from being a tool of racketeers.'