Italian property prices falling in major cities

Property investors looking to buy where prices are falling will have a better chance to do so in the Italian cities, a new report has revealed.

A series of new estate agent surveys have revealed that prices are tending to dip in the major cities, however they are generally holding up across the other parts of the country, the Roman forum noted.

These include the Tecnocasa and Gabetti forecasting falls of between one and two per cent in Milan, 2.4 per cent in Rome, between two and three per cent in Florence, two and four percent in Naples and six per cent in Turin.

According to the UBH data, which estimate a plunge of eight per cent in Rome and Milan, they also added that the upper end of the market continues to hold firm, so 2009 is likely to be a difficult year only for the lower segment of the Italian market. But, more importantly, the UBH data show that, when considered in a long-term perspective, Italian property values prove robust. Scenari Immobiliari said that despite a national rise of 1.6 per cent.of 6.8% between 2008 and 2007, there has been a drop of 4.8 per cent in the major cities.

Italy has not experienced a widespread financial crisis of the scale seen in other developed nations in this recession period. Even though it has become more vulnerable, the country's banking system remains stable, and its property market, while gently declining, is holding up, due to the fact that Italy has suffered less a rise in unemployment than other European countries, according to reuters reports.