(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 24 - The Italian real estate market shows signs of vivacity in the first quarter of the year, but the prospects for the near future are not rosy, penalized above all by the increases in energy prices, which involve high maintenance costs, and by the climate of uncertainty related to war.
According to the survey conducted by the Bank of Italy of 1,574 real estate agents from 5 April to 4 May 2022, the signs of a rise in house prices further strengthened in the first quarter.
The share of operators who have sold at least one property has increased again, reaching a new maximum since the start of the survey in 2009;
new sales appointments are confirmed to be decreasing;
both the time to sell and the average discount requested on prices have fallen to the minimum levels since the investigation was started.
However, explains Bankitalia in the economic survey on the housing market in Italy, the opinions on the current conditions of demand have worsened and the prospects of operators have also deteriorated, with reference to both their own market and the national one, for the current quarter and, to a greater extent , over a two-year horizon.
These assessments are weighed down by the energy price increases and the invasion of Ukraine, which are holding back the purchase intentions of families, who have become attentive not only to the sale price of the properties but also to their energy efficiency and maintenance status.
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