Italy tipped to attract investors

Property in Italy could be set to see a renewed surge of interest from foreign buyers, experts have suggested.

Although the market has remained consistently popular over the years, ShelterOffshore.com believes that has recently been "flagging" as a result of high purchase costs.

According to the website, charges have been as much as a fifth of the asking price at times, making the overall cost of buying an Italian property too much for many prospective investors.

Hungarian police reveal Italian real-estate scam

Hungarian police have revealed a billion-forint international scam involving two Italians and their companies based in Hungary, a police spokesperson said on Friday.

An Italian buyer agreed with a U.S.-based off-shore company in 2006 to pay 27 million euros for an industrial property near Milan and was planning to transfer the purchase price through a Hungarian intermediary company in order to avoid delays resulting from Italian regulations.

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Assicurazioni Generali SpA said its excess capital at the end of 2007 was 3.2 bln eur.

n slides presenting the group's 2007 results, Generali said it has real estate assets worth 22.93 bln eur, with 40 pct of the portfolio being in Italy.

The company said its exposure to structured finance, net of policyholders' participation, is 1.481 bln eur compared to an overall group investment portfolio of 285.9 bln eur.

Generali said it has no exposure to US subprime assets and negligible exposure to US monoline insurers.

Tax changes will boost Italian property

Recent changes in Italian tax laws will benefit some property investors, it has been claimed.

Fly-2let.co.uk reports that non-professional investors who wish to buy a holiday home in Italy and rent it out for a period each year will be able to take advantage of a lower rate of tax.

The website explains that duty charged on such property purchases can now be as low as four per cent, whereas previously it could be as high as 17 per cent.

Italy emerges as top investment hotspot

Italy has been named as the most sought after overseas investment hotspot for Britons seeking property abroad.

According to theMoveChannel.com, the international property portal, the country emerged as the most enquired after location during February, taking 8.5% of all searches.

The statistics also reveal that Spain came in second as the prime destination for Britons looking for property abroad, having overtaken France which was toppled from first place.

Pirelli Italy real estate may sell non-performing loan business

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Pirelli & C Italy Real Estate SpA may sell its non-performing loan business, the daily Il Sole 24 Ore said on Saturday without giving a source.

The move could be outlined in a business plan its parent company Pirelli & C SpA is scheduled to present mid-May, it added.

Pirelli RE has previously said it will present its three-year 2008-2010 business plan on May 8, along with first-quarter results.

Cushman & Wakefield named best real estate company in Italy

Cushman & Wakefield, one of the world's largest commercial real estate service firms, won the "Mattone d'oro" award (the Golden Brick) as the best real estate consultancy company. The prize was awarded in Milan during the Gala Dinner for the "Ballo del Mattone", the most important Italian real estate event, organized by the monthly magazine RE Real Estate.

Cushman & Wakefield surpassed CB Richard Ellis, Pirelli & Co Real Estate Facility Management SpA and Reag Real Estate Advisory Group SpA, with over thirty per cent of votes from the guests during the event.

Campione d’Italia

"Commune di Campione," as the Italians call it, on the shores of beautiful Lake Lugano, is unique; a little plot of Italian soil, completely surrounded by Swiss territory. There are no border controls and complete freedom of travel.

Campione is a pleasant place to live, located in the heart of one of the best Swiss and nearby Italian real estate and tourist areas. The region boasts lakes, winter sports, and the cultural activities of Milan, Italy, only a hour away by auto.

Italian Real Estate: È Bello!

“Italy's exquisite cultural patrimony, evocative countryside and ‘made in Italy’ craftsmanship all combine to preserve the value of Italian real property,” Donald J. Carroll, Esq.—special counsel to and member of Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati in Rome and vice co-chair of the ABA Committee on International Investment in Real Estate—said in an e-mail interview.

The flourishing tourist industry in Italy provides a strong potential rental market for investors looking to buy overseas. In 2006, Italy ranked fifth on the World Tourism Organization’s list of top tourist destinations, with 41.1 million international arrivals. Southern Italy, in particular, has been of great interest to vacationers. Homes and apartments along the coast or in the relaxed country settings that tourists favor have the potential to provide substantial rental income.

A Starter House in Italy

The recent trulli boom is partly a continuation of the foreign-fueled real-estate speculation that began in Tuscany several decades ago, where so many British began buying second homes that it was given the nickname Chiantishire. As the values of country homes in Tuscany soared, the more adventurous wandered into nearby regions such as Umbria, and then farther south to the Marche and Abruzzo, buying up abandoned farmhouses or run-down villas. Puglia is the end of the line.

In Puglia, at the heel of the Italian boot, a centuries-old architectural peculiarity has turned into an unlikely real-estate boom.