The fifth edition of the ING International Survey "Houses and Mortgages" - carried out on a sample of around 15.000 individuals from 15 countries in Europe, the United States and Australia - analyzed people's perceptions of homes in relation to three dimensions: prices, ability to meet housing needs and satisfaction with one's situation.
In Italy, 37% of individuals interviewed believe that house prices will rise in the next 12 months, against a European average of 56%, the lowest figure among the countries covered by the survey, even if the trend marks an increase by 4% compared to 2015. Despite a slightly positive trend, Italians therefore remain the least confident in Europe about the growth in house prices, followed by Poland, France, Spain, the Czech Republic and Romania.
Nonetheless, almost half of respondents in Italy still believe that house prices cannot collapse, compared to a European average of 42%. The country with the most significant change compared to 2015 is Great Britain, where the percentage of
those who expect a rise in prices went from 70% in 2015 to 57% in 2016 (-13%), a figure probably affected by the effect of Brexit.
The survey also highlighted other noteworthy aspects: the interviewees were asked how much the real estate market situation impacts on their lifestyle choices. It emerged that in Italy 29% of the sample declares that they cannot afford to go and live alone, in line with the European figure. On the other hand, 20% say they postpone the decision to have children also because of housing conditions, against the European average of 16% while 15% are forced to postpone retirement, against an average of 12%.
The interviewees also expressed their views on the factors that would have the greatest impact on the price of homes: in first place we find the tax authorities, cited by 22% of the Italians interviewed, double the figure compared to the European average of 11% and equal only to that
from Spain.
Compared to 2015, which had recorded an improvement on this front, Italians seem to find it more difficult to do
dealing with mortgage or rent installments: 27% of those with a mortgage declare that they find it difficult to manage the expenses for the installment, while 38% of tenants declare that they have difficulty in meeting the monthly rent. In both cases, however, Italians show that they have more problems than the rest of Europe, where only 26% of borrowers and 24% of renters report difficulties in meeting their monthly commitments.
Overall, Italians appear to be among the least satisfied with their housing situation: only 68% of home owners (against an average of 77%) declare themselves happy with their housing situation, a percentage which drops to 52% (against an average of 57%) for those who live in rent.
“The ING Bank Case e Mutui international survey continues to signal a strong differentiation in expectations on the trend in house prices among European countries, a possible reflection of the different growth speeds of the economies – commented Paolo Pizzoli, Senior Economist at ING Bank Italia – The low percentage of Italians who expect an increase in house prices over the next twelve months well reflects the current state of the real estate market, still characterized by falling prices, albeit at decreasing rates. Rather surprisingly, despite the drop in national average house prices in Italy for four years, 47% of Italians interviewed still agree with the statement that "house prices never go down". A distortion that could encourage people to underestimate the risk associated with the purchase of real estate.”
