Property in Sicily: The international Real Estate Agency with family-run values.

Property in Sicily is a family-run business with two offices in the province of Palermo (Sicily). One office (known as Casa in Sicilia) is in Palermo, the island's capital city; the other (Property in Sicily) is in the charming beach town of Cefalù, an hour along the coast.

Since arriving in Sicily in 1988, Thomas Gruessner has been spreading the word about his new home to friends and clients from all over the north of Europe and beyond. Now joined in the business by his sons Fabian and Valerio, the agency employs native speakers of German, French, Russian – and of course English and Italian.

Our pride is in being well-established enough to handle large projects and having experience with complicated international transactions, but remaining small enough to care about our clients and to offer a personal service.

We work exclusively with international buyers, and the properties we list are not selected on the basis of quantity, but to meet the demands of our clients. This could be a ready-to-use sea view villa with a brand new swimming pool, an established vacation residence with a loyal clientele, or a great value restoration project in a convenient location.

Whether you're dreaming of relocating your family to Sicily, retiring here or investing a property which can pay its own bills through vacation letting, the journey you are embarking on is one we've taken ourselves. We have bought here, redeveloped property, started a business and run a variety holiday accommodation (including the Mer et Soleil resort at Mongerbino, Villa Caterina in Cefalù, the Casette di Calzata in Campofelice and Palazzo Quaroni in the centre of Palermo).

We understand your situation, share your perspective, and want to do everything we can to help you get as much from this beautiful island as our family has been lucky enough to enjoy.

Our services include:

Finding the right property

• expert guides to help you navigate the market
• a curated directory of real estate
• ground-level information about the region including terrain, transport, market trends etc.
• furnished rental properties to stay in while visiting properties or getting to know the area, at discounted rates
• drafting independent reports: visiting properties you find but aren't able to visit, scouting them and preparing you an impartial, personalised report including photographs and our honest advice
• checking all the paperwork relating to the ownership and registration of the property

Bridging the language gap

• mother-tongue translation and interpretation into English, French, German and Russian
• negotiating the best possible price in the language the vendor speaks (we mean this literally and metaphorically - and whether it's Italian or the Sicilian dialect!) - Sicily is a traditional culture and a trusted local negotiator is a huge advantage to our overseas clients
• help preparing official documents, including obtaining notarised translations where needed
• Italian language courses at our popular Italian school, Solemar Academy (in Cefalù)

Local expertise

• putting you in touch with the people you need to know: we have a register of trusted collaborators, including surveyors, architects, lawyers, craftspeople and labourers
• after-sales care: once the purchase is complete you may have plans to develop, renovate or convert – we can help here too
• if you are absent during this kind of work, let us supervise for you. We can send photos and regular reports
• maintaining and running your property: as mentioned above, we are experts at managing vacation properties
• when moving time comes we can help you find the best quote for shipping or haulage
• cutting through the red-tape: we have great relationships with the local authorities
• settling in: from registering your car to finding a family doctor, we can guide you through the process of starting to live in Italy

Casa in Sicilia

Via F. Perez 85a - Aspra - Bagheria (PA)

Mobile Phone: 0039 338 73 72 833 (Thomas Gruessner) 

Property in Sicily

Via M.C. Tomasini 5 - Cefalù (PA)

Mobile Phone: 0039 339 60 97 076 (Thomas Gruessner)