Italy: A Sought After Property Market
According to a leading international property portal, Italy was the most enquired about country for overseas property purchase during February 2008, accounting for 8.5% of all searches. The country has also been named as the most sought-after location for British property buyers looking for overseas property investment.
The Italian Tourist Market
Natwest's latest Quality of Life Index showed expatriates rating Italy as the 4 best place to live, second only to Portugal in the European rankings.
Italy ranks in the top 5 most popular tourist destinations in the world. International tourism arrivals reached 40 million in 2006, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation and rose by a further 17.2% in 2007.
Low cost airlines are pouring into both regions. Since the Lamezia and Reggio airports in the south of Italy have opened their doors to budget operators such as Ryanair, there is now a choice of carriers and availability when flying between the UK and the south of the country.
Stable Economy and Capital Growth
Economic growth was higher in 2007 registering 1.8% GDP growth, according to The Economist, a significant increase on the CIA World Factbook figures for the period 2001 to 2005 of an average 0.7% growth. 2007's economic growth follows the strong rises of 2.4% in gross fixed investment, and in particular, the growth in residential construction of 4.1%.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Italy grew to $19.6 billion in 2005 and reached $39.2 billion in 2006, according to A.T. Kearney's 2007 Confidence Index, making the country the 5th largest recipient of FDI in Europe. Italy's consumer price inflation remains amongst the lowest in the EU.Such low price inflation has enabled costs to be kept down and a stable economy.
Real estate assets now account for the largest asset class in the Italian private sector rising from €1.4 billion in 2001 to €30 billion predicted for the end total of 2007. This overtakes insurance at €24 billion and €8.5 billion from the banking sector (Source: Scenari Immobiliari's Real Estate Funds in Italy and Abroad 2007 Report).
Property in Sicily - A Developing Market
Sicily has shown positive economic signs during the first half of this decade with gross internal product reaching $104,491 million, an 8.4% increase on figures in 2000, according to Sicily USA Project. The autonomous region has a population of 5 million people and holds an average annual income of €24,012.20.
In addition, Sicily is set to benefit from development funding from the European Union, the Italian national government and the Sicily region until 2013. The European Union's Structural Fund alone has pledged €7.5 billion to be invested in Southern Italy and Sicily during the period 2007 to 2013. The massive investment will be used to improve infrastructure, increase services to stimulate competitiveness, and diminish the social and economic gaps that currently exist between the region and the more affluent parts of Europe.
Such development of these regions provides an ideal platform for overseas property investors. As infrastructure and local services develop and improve, property prices are only set to increase hand-in-hand presenting an ideal entry time for investors.
Italy a "Buy to Let" Market
With the growing tourism industry in Italy and low costs direct flights from the UK and other European countries, Italy provides interesting buy to let investment opportunities
Italy Weblog
