The second home market in Italy continues to hold

Italian property market is a stable one and has been largely unaffected by the recession, it has been reported.

According to Country Life, Paul Hudson noted the strength of the property investment market in the country and commented that the bottom of it has now passed. He cited the data of the value of top-end residences in the country from property agents' federation FIAIP which revealed an average price rise of between nine per cent and 27 per cent between 2004 and 2009.

He said that although there are local variations, the second home market has on average remained stable over previous years.The first half of 2009 only saw a drop of between 0.85 per cent and 1.25 per cent, after a decline of just 0.6 per cent in 2008.

According to Italymag.co.uk reports, prices increased marginally with a small decline in sales in Tuscany region. Sales in Tuscany declined in the provincial capitals (-4.8%) whereas, outside them, they went up by about 1%. In line with the rest of Italy, prime properties in sought-after cities also saw a healthier price increase than other market segments-they went up by an average 3.5%.

A recent study by investment experts Close Treasury has revealed that Italian real estate is showing true strength for Brits in these uncertain economic times, and much of its success is down to multi national currency. Brits, who have bought Italian properties using the Euro in recent years, will have seen a sterling value increase in their property of around 65% since 2005. The reason for this is attributed to improving market values with the combined effects of price growth and the changing exchange rates are considered.

Such findings are likely to be surprising news and Italian properties are set to become of greater interest to buyers as the country is being seen to be one of the earliest to recover from global recession, making now the right time to consider investing in real estate in Italy.