They collapse trades of houses, while theprice increase slows down, except for Milan and Turin where the increases are still substantial. This is the picture of the Italian real estate market outlined today by the preliminary estimates for the second quarter of 2023 published by'Istat.
Home: house prices rise by 2%
According to preliminary estimates from Istat, in the second quarter of 2023 the house price index (acronym IPAB) purchased by families for housing or investment purposes rose by 2% compared to the first quarter and by 0,7% compared to the same period of 2022.
“The trend increase in housing prices – specifies the National Institute of Statistics – is attributable both to the prices of new homes, which grew by 0,5% on an annual basis, a sharp slowdown compared to the previous quarter (it was +5,3 %), and to those of existing homes, which rose by 0,8% (slightly accelerating from +0,3% in the first quarter).
Homes: sales collapse, volumes slow down
In this context, the Revenue Agency's Real Estate Market Observatory records a marked reduction in sales volumes for the residential sector. On a trend level, in the second quarter of 2023, the drop is 16%, after -8,3% in the previous quarter.
A collapse motivated by the current situation of uncertainty, but above all by the surge in prices interest rates established by the ECB to try to put a stop to inflation which has had a very heavy effect on mortgages, both new ones and those already taken out at a variable rate.
On a numerical level, in the three months from April to June, in the residential sector there were 184 thousand homes sold, around 35 thousand less than in the same period of 2022. “At a national level, home sales decreased more in the capital municipalities, -17,2% (around 12 thousand homes exchanged less compared to the second quarter of 2022), but suffered a marked decline also in smaller municipalities, -15,4%”, explains the Revenue Observatory.
Real estate: prices rising sharply in Milan
From a geographical point of view, there is a growth in house prices on a cyclical basis while on an annual basis the dynamics are different. In the breakdowns of North part house prices continue to grow, accelerating in the North-West (from +2,0% to +2,5%) and slowing down in the North-East (from +1,9% to +1,1%); In the Center and South and Islands, however, recorded negative trend rates of -0,7% and -1,5% respectively (from +0,1% and -0,7% in the previous quarter).
As far as cities are concerned, house prices are growing in all cities for which IPAB is widespread. Stands out Milano, which recorded an increase, on an annual basis, of 7,1%, an acceleration compared to the previous quarter (it was +5,8%). “The trend increase is partly attributable to the prices of existing homes (+6,0%), but above all to those of new homes (+12,3%) which slowed slightly compared to the previous quarter (+13,1%) . The increase at the economic level is attributable to both components: the prices of new homes rise by 2,2% and those of existing homes by 3,3%", explains Istat.
Follows Torino where there is a trend increase of +4,1% (it was +0,7% in the previous quarter). Roma instead, it recorded the most limited growth, equal to 0,6%, decelerating from +1,9% in the previous quarter, following the marked decline in new home prices (from +2,7% to -4,6% ), while the prices of existing homes show more limited increases (from +1,9% to +1,3%). On a cyclical basis, there was growth for both components (+1,9% for new homes and +0,2% for existing ones).
