Italy's residential real estate market was expected to suffer from COVID-19 for the remaining months of 2020. According to calculations from a "base" scenario, house prices in the Mediterranean country are to decrease by *** percent, with the "hard" scenario mentioning a potential decrease of up to **** percent. The source believes the house price development is closely connected to how the economy in Italy will respond to coronavirus measures. It admits that consumer demands have changed since home quarantine (for example, a growing demand for houses with terraces or balconies), but the source states that prices will rely on whether people are still able to purchase property.

The House Price Index (HPI) for residential real estate in Italy surged in the years after the coronavirus pandemic. Since 2019 the HPI rose, peaking at *** in the second quarter of 2024. Across the different regions, Trentino South-Tyrol recorded the highest house prices.

Residential property transactions comprised the largest portion of real estate transactions in Italy in the first quarter of 2021. In this year, there were close to ******* housing transactions, compared to ***** office transactions. Retail real estate, which was badly hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic also ranked high, with ****** transactions.

The number of transactions in the residential real estate sector in Italy significantly decreased in the first quarter of 2020, as a result of the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When looking at the ***** major Italian cities, it can be seen that the number of transactions decreased by almost ** percent on average in this period. It was found that the worst situation in Milan, Naples and Genoa, with each one of these cities facing a contraction around ** percent. Bologna stood up as the least affected in this group, with a relatively small decrease of *** percent in the volume of real estate transactions.

Transactions in the residential real estate sector in Italy have fluctuated since 2005. In the years following the financial crisis (2007 to 2013), the number of transactions in the sector decreased steadily year-on-year. The most significant drop was registered in 2012, when transactions decreased by 25.6 percent compared to the previous year. Starting 2014, the trend began improving and the number of transactions increased steadily. In particular, in 2016, an increase of 18.6 percent was reported. In 2020, under the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, transactions fell for the firsat time since 2013, by 7.7 percent. 2021 saw the most significant increase since 2005 of 34 percent.

Gross fixed capital formation for housing decreased significantly in several European countries in early 2020 but followed with a drop in the second quarter of the year with the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This translated into a halt of residential property investments. In countries like the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, and Luxembourg the year-on-year percentage decrease was between ** and ** percent. Тhis was not the case with several countries that kept housing investment growing on an year-on-year basis in 2020: Greece, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, and Czechia.

More in-depth data can be found in the report on the coronavirus impacting house prices in Europe in 2020 and 2021.

Investments in the office real estate sector in Italy amounted to almost ************ euros in 2022, which was an increase of over *** billion euros compared to the previous year. Italy was one of the countries most severely hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, leading to commercial real estate activity plummeting.

The market value of the smart home sector in Italy increased significantly since 2016. According to data, the value of this market grew from *** million euros in 2016 to *** million euros as of 2022. Only in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the smart home market value dropped to *** million euros.

The number of transactions in the residential real estate market in Italy decreased in 2023, after a slight surge the year before. With ******* property sales, 2023 saw one of the highest transaction activity during the observation period. When looking at regional figures, Lombardy accounted for almost one in four transactions in the residential real estate sector. Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the market During the coronavirus pandemic, the market contracted, with the number of transactions falling by *** percent. That was followed by home sales surging in 2021, by more than one third. The market slowed down in 2022, but all regions, except for Emilia Romagna, recorded an increase in terms of transactions value. When looking at absolute numbers, Lombardy performed the best: the transactions’ value in the residential real estate sector in the region amounted to approximately ** billion euros. Lazio, Liguria, and Tuscany: the most expensive regions Lombardy might be leading in terms of total transactions value, but it is not the region with the most valuable residential properties. In fact, calculations about the average price of transactions in the sector reveal that Tuscany, Lazio and Aosta Valley have the most expensive properties in Italy. In 2023, all three regions registered an average transaction value of about ******* euros.

In 2020, the share of domestic commercial real estate investments saw a significant increase from ** percent in 2019 to ** percent in 2020. This can be explained with the effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the travel restrictions introduced to contain the spread of the virus.

After decreasing notably due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the number of residential real estate transactions in Rome, Italy, surged in 2021. A total of ****** home sales took place in 2021 - the highest number recorded during the whole observation period.

The vacancy rate in the office real estate sector in Rome amounted to **** percent in the fourth quarter of 2020. When comparing the market's performance in 2019 and 2020, it can be seen that the vacancy rate increased by nearly *** percent. The increase in vacancy rates was *** of the many effects that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had on the real estate market.

The statistic shows the year-on-year (YoY) changes in the number of transactions in the commercial real estate sector in Italy from the first quarter of 2012 to the second quarter of 2020. Under the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in the second quarter of 2020, the number of transactions in the commercial real estate sector fell by nearly ** percentage points in comparison with the previous year's quarter. The commercial real estate sector includes handicraft, commercial, industrial use, office use, rural use (rural buildings not constituting agricultural land appurtenances).

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

House prices in the UK rose dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with growth slowing down in 2022 and turning negative in 2023. The year-on-year annual house price change peaked at 14 percent in July 2022. In April 2025, house prices increased by 3.5 percent. As of late 2024, the average house price was close to 290,000 British pounds. Correction in housing prices: a European phenomenon The trend of a growing residential real estate market was not exclusive to the UK during the pandemic. Likewise, many European countries experienced falling prices in 2023. When comparing residential property RHPI (price index in real terms, e.g. corrected for inflation), countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain also saw prices decline. Sweden, one of the countries with the fastest growing residential markets, saw one of the largest declines in prices. How has demand for UK housing changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus? The easing of the lockdown was followed by a dramatic increase in home sales. In November 2020, the number of mortgage approvals reached an all-time high of over 107,000. One of the reasons for the housing boom were the low mortgage rates, allowing home buyers to take out a loan with an interest rate as low as 2.5 percent. That changed as the Bank of England started to raise the base lending rate, resulting in higher borrowing costs and a decline in homebuyer sentiment.

The consumption value of furniture and home furnishing products in Italy has been increasing annually since 2015. In 2020, however, the value decreased by **** percent compared to the year before, a significant decrease likely caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In 2021, the investment volume in the commercial real estate market in Milan, Italy was approximately *** billion euros, down from *** billion in 2020. While investment volumes decreased, they still exceeded the ten-year average values.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a major impact on the commercial real estate sector, affecting investment activity across most countries in Europe.