Home buying & selling by foreigners in Italy: first-half 2023 Report

Italy continues to be a favorite destination for foreigners from all over the world to buy a house.

In this first half of 2023, Tuscany remains the preferred region of foreign buyers (18% of requests) but it is the southern regions and the islands that record the highest growth compared to the same period last year (Sardinia +31%).

Requests arrive for homes of any price range and come from all over the world: the Americans, Germans and English therefore continue to be the most numerous to look for a home in Italy, however, interest comes from every corner of the world (Portugal +106 %), demonstrating that Italy represents a coveted and desired destination on a global level. For foreigners, buying a house in Italy is not just an investment, but also a way to live and embrace a unique lifestyle.

In Tuscany, 18.8% of the requests, exploits of the islands

Tuscany remains the preferred region of international users with 18.8% of requests; followed by

Lombardy with 9.28%,

Liguria with 8.5%,

Puglia with 8.04%, Sicily (8%),

Piedmont (7.2%) and

Abruzzo (6.4%)

Looking instead at the growth compared to the same period last year, the islands prevail: Sardinia leads with a growth in requests that exceeds 31% y/y. Sicily follows with a growth of 14.2% y/y.

By expanding and analyzing the areas, things change:

Lake Como prevails, followed by
Salento, the Valle d’Itria,
Lunigiana,
Chianti and
Monferrato.

In terms of annual growth, the area that records the best performance is once again Sardinia which, together with the Ogliastra area, records a growth of 47% y/y. Followed by the Alps area with +57% y/y, Gargano (+33% y/y) and Lake Idro (23.3% y/y)

Perugia the most sought after province

Among the provinces, Perugia recorded the best performance for the period with 4.64% of the total requests; Como follows with 4.62%, Lucca (4.39%), Brindisi (4.28%), Sassari (4.17%) and Imperia (3.53%).

As for the municipalities, the most sought after in the first six months of 2023 is Chianni. The municipality in the province of Pisa is confirmed at the top of the ranking ahead of Ostuni. Followed by Fivizzano (MS), the city of Scalea (CS) and Lucca (LU).

If we look at the growth compared to the same period last year,

Portofino (GE) prevails with a growth of +540% y/y. Followed by

Coreglia Antelminelli (LU) with a growth of +240% y/y,

Castellammare del Golfo (TP) with a +196% y/y,

Parzanica (BG) with a +200% y/y and

Palermo (+139% y/y /to).

US buyers are the most active

US citizens are confirmed to be the most active in searches with 28% of requests. Followed by Germany (12.4%), United Kingdom (9%), Canada (4.8%) and France (4.6%).

The nations that grow the most compared to the same period in 2022 are Portugal with a +106% y/y; Chile (+73.58% y/y) and Israel (+56% y/y).

The foreign buyer looking for a home in Italy stands out for his versatility and interest in a wide range of housing options. He is not limited to just looking for luxury homes but is open to exploring every price range available on the market.

The most sought-after homes continue to be mainly the categories, apartment (21.15% of the total), villa (15.84%), detached house (10%) and cottage (9.29%).

But there are also some categories of properties that are typical of the Italian territory among the requests: the Maso, typical of Trentino Alto Adige, registers requests up by 75%. Masserias, traditional constructions of southern Italy and very common in Puglia, recorded an increase of 31% y/y in the six months, while the Lamia (rural buildings in Salento) grew by 290%.

In terms of prices, the lowest ranges record the majority of requests:

the range between 0-100 thousand euros marks 39.5% of the preferences.

Followed by the range 100-250 thousand euros (25.2%);

250-500 thousand euros (17.43%);

500-1.00 million euros (9.9%).

7.85% are looking for houses over 1 million euros.
As regards the characteristics of the properties, the requests focus on completely renovated and habitable houses (63.66%) larger than 120 m2 (53.9%) – the 60-80 m2 range is 13.36% – and with at least two bedrooms (26.59%).

Finally, while not representing a fundamental feature of the property, foreigners appreciate the presence of a garden (56.8%), the swimming pool (21.2%) and the presence of land (30.2%).

Source: Gate-away