Italy News
01 Nov 2009
Italian hotspots un-affected by recession
Those looking to snap up a bargain holiday home in Italy are likely to be disappointed. Rupert Fawcett, head of Knight Frank's Italian desk, said: "Historically, property prices in Italy have always held. Italy's second-home market has been largely unaffected by the recession. Forced sellers are rare as most properties have been bought as a long-term purchase. Prices have fallen on average 10 to 20 per cent and now, similar to the UK, prices have started to curb."
Commanding the highest prices are prime areas such as Lake Como and Venice, and niche places such as glitzy Capri, and its lesser-known neighbour, Ischia. Ischia is a small volcanic island in southern Italy's Gulf of Naples, where strict planning regulations coupled with the fact that residents hardly move means property is in short supply and prices are high.