Where to buy house in Italy ….

A farm to be restored in the Tuscan hills, an apartment in Rome or Venice to earn income, a villa in Sardinia or on Lake Como, a “trullo” in the Puglia countryside – those are some of the typical types of properties that foreigners purchase in Italy. So, for those who own property in an attractive location, buyers outside of the national boundaries are looking for what you have to offer, but only if you are planning to sell, of course!

First step of our journey: learning the most sought after areas by foreigners.

According to the latest housing report in Italy by Knight Frank, a global network in real estate based in London, the “most active” buyers come from the United Kingdom. In the top five of all the most popular destinations, we can find: Tuscany and Umbria, Liguria, Venice, Rome, the Lake of Northern Italy, and the coast of Sardinia. The English are followed by Russians, Dutch, Americans, Germans, and French.

“The real estate market over € 3 million is healthy. At the same time, the demand for new buildings worth less than one million “remains strong.” Sales of luxury properties are on the rise, but at prices 20% below its peak in 2008.”

Among the areas where foreigners are willing to spend more – more than 15 million – are Portofino, Bordighera and Alassio in Liguria and the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, while “cheaper” purchases – between one and 5 million euros – are concentrated mainly in Venice and Tuscany/Umbria.

According to a “Scenari Immobiliare” study in 2012, purchases of second homes in Italy by foreign buyers were about 4,600 – at an average cost of €460,000. In 2013, the results are estimated to grow about 10%. At least 5,000 households and small foreign investors have invested an approximate total expenditure of 2.3 billion euros. In 2012, foreigners spent 2.1 billion euros on second homes in Italy (+13.5% compared to the previous year), continuing a positive trend that began in 2005. German buyers are increasingly interested in Italy, which shows in their purchase increase from 30% in 2009 to the current 41%. Following, but at a distance, there are the English, who over the years have reduced their purchases from a market share of 27% in 2009 to 16% by the end of 2013 (forecast), and then the Russians who colonized the luxury villas in Versilia, on the Costa Smeralda of Sardinia and to a lesser extent on Lake Como. Russians have progressed in five years from 7% to 15%.