Mortgage applications are growing strongly in Italy. This is confirmed by the 2014 Real Estate Report drawn up by the ABI and the Revenue Agency, according to which in the first quarter new mortgage disbursements increased by more than 20% on an annual basis.
For the whole of 2013, on the other hand, sales decreased by 7,7% on an annual basis, to 143.572 units. According to the index elaborated by the ABI Research Office, in 2013 the possibility of access by Italian families to purchase a house improved: at the end of 2013 the index was equal to 6,7%, 2,1 points percentages higher than in the first half of the year. A trend that reflects the improvement in the relative price of houses compared to disposable income.
“The data for the first few months of 2014 – commented the general manager of ABI Giovanni Sabatini on the sidelines of the presentation of the report – show positive signs even if the decrease in sales continues in 2013. The index shows signs of improvement which draws a scenario of modest optimism”.
Despite the positive signs, as mentioned, the real estate market remained stagnant in 2013 as well, reaching 407 units, well below the 430 recorded in 1985, almost 30 years ago. The overall decline was 9,2% and mainly affected the areas of the Center (-10,3%) and the Islands (-10,8%).
As regards the major Italian cities, overall sales decreased by 5,5% in 2013. The greatest drops involved Naples (-15,2%) and Genoa (-10,3%), followed by Rome with a drop of 7,3%. Positive signals instead for Milan, which rises by 3,4% and, to a lesser extent, Bologna with 1,5%. On the other hand, the decline in the sale of homes was higher, -10,6%
For the purchase of homes in 2013, the real estate market lost about 8 billion: in fact, 67,5 billion euros were spent compared to the 75,7 billion recorded in 2012. The decline is widespread in all areas of the country with the highest rate in the South (-13,4%), with a rate of around 12% for the Center and the Islands, and drops just under 10% for the two northern areas.
