British interest in Italian property has rocketed by than 50 per cent since the peak pre-Covid years, with only Germans and Americans having a greater appetite for the bel paese, according to a review of 2023 by a leading property portal.
UK buyers accounted for 9 per cent of searches on Gate-Away.com, which lists properties for sale all over Italy, in 2023. While Brits have always been one of the top three nations browsing the website’s listings since its launch in 2008, their activity jumped a staggering 62.3 per cent between 2019 and 2023. Leading the international pack comfortably are Americans, accounting for more than a quarter (28.8 per cent) of activity on the site, followed by German house-hunters (11.5 per cent).
What other key findings were there? Unsurprisingly – although no longer so comfortably ahead, the most requested region by British house-hunters in 2023 was Tuscany, accounting for around 15 per cent of the total number of searches. Not far behind was Abruzzo with 10.35 per cent, followed by the southern region of Puglia in third place (10.2 per cent). Piedmont (9.5 per cent) and Sicily (8.9 per cent) in fourth and five respectively were amongst the regions that saw the greatest growth, so could be ones to watch.
Looking closer at requests by ‘area’ rather than ‘region’, some interesting trends come to light. Firstly, the two most requested areas by Brits, namely Salento and Itria Valley, are in Puglia and ahead of Tuscany’s highest placed destination, Lunigiana in third. Interest in the Alps jumping 125 per cent making it the sixth most requested area in Italy, behind Lake Como (Lombardy) and Monferrato (Piedmont), was another surprise.
Searching by ‘town’, the three most requested destinations by British buyers are in southern Italy. Puglia takes the top and third spots, with the pretty white city of Ostuni and Carovigno respectively, while Scalea in Calabria ranks second. Inevitably, fourth and fifth positions go to two Tuscan towns, namely Fivizzano and Chianni respectively, with the latter recording a 115 per cent hike compared to 2022.
Turning to types of property, around 80 per cent of UK enquiries are for detached properties, compared to 20 per cent for apartments. The majority of requests are for restored or habitable properties (57 per cent). Enquiries for properties in need of total and partial restoration increased last year by 18.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively while requests for new properties (7.8 per cent) decreased by 17 per cent year-on-year.
“Requests received through our portal for properties in need of rebuilding or partial renovation come to about 32 per cent in total,” adds Simone Rossi. “This reveals a characteristic of the British not to consider renovation as an obstacle, but to view it as an opportunity to give a personal touch to the property.”
Fifty-six per cent of British enquiries included the need for a garden and the most sought-after properties are large dwellings measuring more than 120 square metres (52 per cent). Meanwhile, the average requested property value was approximately €424,000 in 2023, a 24 per cent hike compared to 2022. That said 77 per cent of the requests are for Italian properties worth up to € 250,000, while 10.4 per cent of enquiries are for luxury properties (upwards of €500k).
