Properties in Italy

Invest in property for sale in Italy

In this period of economic turbulences people do not rely on financial investments any more and are diverting their savings on much more reliable and stable investments such as properties. Within the world's property market there is Italy that stands out. Buy property in Italy is nowadays considered as one of the safest and most stable investments since Italian homes for sale not only have not been affected as much as in all the other main countries by the latest crisis, but have always had a steady growth, giving to its investors a good yields of income without any type of risk, this is also what makes buying property Italy so unique. The potential of the Italian property market is huge as it offers well known and tested areas and at the same time it is also plenty of beautiful areas and regions that still need to be discovered by foreign buyers. The best known area of Italy is Tuscany, where foreign buyers started buying old farmhouses in its country side and restored them, especially in a specific area between the provinces of the wonderful cities of Pisa, Siena and Florence called Chianti and made famous worldwide by British and American buyers with the name of Chiantishire. This operation brought back to life a stunning country side that was left half empty by farmers who had moved to the main cities, but also created a trend that is still replicated in other areas of Italy that are becoming as much popular among foreign property buyers for their beauties such as Umbria and Le Marche.

Styles of properties in Italy

Italy offers to its visitors an incredible variety of landscapes, being so narrow and long the territory evolves from coast to hills and mountains in a matter of a few miles. Italy not only is a continuous changing of views, but also its people, culture, dialects and food differ from place to place and of course this is also reflected in properties Italy. The vast variety of types of homes in Italy is unique, it goes from the most popular farmhouses that can be found in Tuscany which are built with stone (called “Casolari” by locals) to the farmhouses built in the yellow bricks in Le Marche (called “Case Coloniche” by locals). In the northern region Piemonte for instance, farmhouses are completely different than the ones in the other Italian areas; here are usually lower, not more than two floors, and divided in two parts, one part used as the actual home of the farmer and his family, the other part dedicated to the farmer's activities, with the upper floor, usually open on one side, used as a hayloft, and the ground floor used as a stable. Talking about Italian real estate, how could we not mention probably the most peculiar type of home in Italy, the trullis in the beautiful region Puglia (a cone-roofed type of property used by shepherds and farmers in ancient times), or a Stazzo in Sardinia or the very famous villas in Veneto? Looking through all these factors it is clear why foreign buyers decide to invest in property in Italy for sale as it is plenty of different styles to choose from.

Tourism makes real estate in Italy a sought after investment

As most people know Italy is one of the world's most visited countries, thanks to its endless list of beauties to see and to experience. Italy hosts two thirds of the historical and artistic heritage sites of the whole world, and Tuscany alone has more UNESCO world's heritage sites than the whole of Spain, which ranks second in the list of countries per number of heritage sites. This of course attracts visitors by millions every year and makes also Italy real estate for sale very attractive too to property investors. In fact many sales of property in Italy are in tourist areas and rented out to pay the mortgage or to pay off the the investment made. In fact many of the estate agents in Italy after taking the buyers through all the purchase process to the final sale, look after the renting of the property in the period in which it is not used by the owners. Another trend that is becoming ever more popular is to buy old farmhouses, restore them and then open a B&B. This trend has increased in popularity, especially in the northern Europe countries, as there have been also reality shows in Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark featuring a group of people undertaking a big restoration project in a small village on the hills of Le Marche and converting the big property in a running B&B. The winners would win the management of the B&B.

Undiscovered Italy

There are cities and areas in Italy that are in the must see list of the majority of people around the globe. Everybody knows cities such as Rome, Venice, Florence and areas such as Chianti, Amalfi coast, Sicily and dream to visit this places at least once. This is also reflected in the real estate market of these places where prices are very high. But there are areas that are completely undiscovered where property prices are very low but that are also so beautiful that is quite easy to foresee a boom of interest by foreign buyers, these areas make properties for sale in Italy even more attractive as they provide the growth that can be found in up-coming markets but with the investment safety of a well tested country. If we take for instance the region Molise, which is the second smallest region after Valle d'Aosta and it lays on the eastern coast between Abruzzo and Puglia, it still needs to be discovered by the second home market (also by Italians) and where prices are very low, for instance €25,000 for a country homes to be restored with some land. But there are areas within the borders of very popular regions where is possible to buy an Italian property for sale at an affordable price. In the most popular Italian region Tuscany there are some areas that are definitely worth to be looked at. One is Lunigiana, the northern tip of the region, in the provice of Massa Carrara, which is becoming more popular and it plenty of great investment opportunities, another one is called Garfagnana, in the province of the quite famous city of Lucca. Here prices are still low despite the popularity of Lucca, which is considered as the second Europe's most idyllic places to live by the American magazine Forbes.

The most popular areas in Italy

The leading region for foreign property investors is always Tuscany, but all the other regions are catching up as ever more people get to know the beauties of other regions. Thanks to low cost airlines that have opened up new flight routes, the distribution of interest for Italian houses for sale is spreading throughout the territory. Le Marche region is the second most sought-after and is considered as the second Tuscany as property opportunities, taking over Umbria which, despite being absolutely stunning, has much higher prices. Liguria also performs well along with Puglia, Abruzzo and Calabria. Lombardy ranks lower in the list but we have to say that the majority of the enquiries are for the area around Lake Como. As for type of property people tend to favour houses for sale in Italy than apartments.

The mission of Gate-Away.com, the Italian property portal

Gate-Away.com is the only Italian property portal that is dedicated solely to foreign users. All the functions, the layout, contents and services are aimed to help foreign buyers find the homes for sale in Italy of their dream. Here at Gate-Away.com put all our efforts in selecting the estate agents we want to work with, choosing only the ones with properties and services suitable to overseas buyers, this is one of the main reasons why our users choose Gate-Away among other portals and why using our site increases the possibilities to find the home in Italy dreamed about and to make all the purchase process a much easier experience.

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