Tuscan Real Estate Slows Down

The market for luxury residences in Tuscany has hit a rough patch for the first time since the euro doubled the cost of property — and of nearly everything else, too — almost a decade ago. While "la crisi," a nickname for the global financial crisis, has not affected Tuscany's real estate market as deeply as it has hit parts of France and the whole of Spain, the area is experiencing its own, softer slide.

Across Tuscany, closing prices in the luxury sector have fallen 10 to 20 percent from where they were two years ago, according to four agents who work around the region. In neighboring Umbria, Mr. Dragoni said, prices have dropped as much as ¤1,000, or $1,400, per square meter, from a peak of ¤4,000.

Italy real estate to grow at end 2010

MILAN, July 21 (Reuters) - The Italian real estate market has stabilised but growth will have to wait until the end of 2010 at the earliest, the chief executive of Italy's Beni Stabili (BNSI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) Aldo Mazzocco said on Tuesday.

"We are playing in defence but we're glad to do that since most of our European competitors are playing (behind) the goal (line)," Mazzocco said speaking at an analyst presentation.

Mazzocco said he expects conditions on the Italian property market to remain tough in the coming months, adding he sees the second half of the year in line with the first half with the same kind of buyer - families and private investors.

But if the market has perhaps steadied "we won't see the first signs of growth before the end of 2010, early 2011", he said.

For Sale in ... Florence

Italy’s residential property market has seen price reductions of between 10 and 20 percent in the economic downturn, said Rupert Fawcett, head of the Italian department for Knight Frank, a research company.

Sales volumes were down in late 2008 and early 2009, but have started to recover, Mr. Fawcett said, and foreign owners were more likely to sell their Italian properties than Italian owners, partly because weakened currencies in the United States and Britain made it an attractive time to sell foreign holdings.

In Florence, buyers looking for apartments to use as vacation homes tend to look in the city center, called the Centro Storico, Mr. Fawcett said. For houses and villas, popular second home neighborhoods are to be found in the hills surrounding Florence, such as Bellosguardo, Fiesole and Impruneta. Daniela Gisti, the business development manager for Precious Villas, a real estate firm with offices in Florence and London, said the hillside village of Settignano is known as the Beverly Hills of Florence.

International Real Estate: Italy, Spain and Portugal properties

Every month, Mondinion.com releases statistics about searches performed on the site by visitors and potential buyers / renters. In May 2009, the top searched countries were: Philippines, Italy, Spain, United States, Mexico, India, Portugal and France.

"As the holiday period is coming, more and more buyers and investors are looking for popular vacation destinations such as Spain (especially Marbella, Barcelona, Alicante) - http://www.mondinion.com/Real_Estate/country/Spain/, Italy (the always popular Toscana and Sicilia) - http://www.mondinion.com/Real_Estate/country/Italy/ and Portugal - http://www.mondinion.com/Real_Estate/country/Portugal/. Other overseas real estate destinations are Philippines, Mexico, India and Brazil.", commented Zoltan A. Baranyai, Founder of Mondinion.com.

Campari? Crostini? Step Into My Umbrian Estate

I’m so at home that I invite the real owner of the Montagnola estate, Vittoria Iraci Borgia, along with Carmela Guzzo, her factotum-cum-culinary-magician, and their families to elaborate multicourse feasts. When they arrive, bearing lovely gifts for the hostess, my friends and I sweep out to welcome them, the picture of gracious beneficence. We proffer Campari-vodka-grapefruit juice aperitivos, along with crostini alla Romana and arancini before moving on to the main feast as the sun starts to set.

Global recession? What global recession? If you don’t count discretionary spending (read eight pairs of shoes from the Prada outlet in Montevarchi), my dolce vita sojourn is cheaper than a week at many beach houses stateside. For 2,400 euros (about $3,400 at $1.42 to the euro) for the whole week, we rent the six-bedroom (each with private bathroom) Caprareccia, the simply furnished, staggeringly beautiful hilltop jewel of La Montagnola’s rental offerings.

Italy's Assilea sets standard clauses for real estate leasing contracts

Italy’s leasing association Assilea and the Notary Council of Milan have jointly set the future standard clauses for real estate leasing contacts.

Following a series of legislative changes in the last three years, the leasing association and the Notary Council decided to strengthen their cooperation which started back in 2005 and make clauses uniform and more transparent.

The standard clauses concern the purchase of property to be leased, the sale of property already under a lease agreement, the leaseback of property, and the purchase of land on which to build property which will subsequently be leased.

Assilea said that the initiative will “slim down and speed up” notaries’ deeds of real estate leasing operations and make the market “more competitive and transparent”.