As scheduled, the Real Estate Market Observatory of the Italian Revenue Agency has published statistical data for the second quarter of 2019, allowing operators and all stakeholders to make an initial commentary on the evolution of the Italian residential market in mid-2019. A fairly positive commentary, with some signs of slowdown that will be monitored in the coming weeks.
Buying and selling, a development that has continued since 2014
The first and most important data analysis of the Italian residential market is related to the trend of buying and selling, which in the second quarter of 2019 brings in a good trend rate of 3.9 percent, lower than the +8.8 percent in the first quarter of the year.
Disaggregating the macro data by territorial areas, the Center and the Islands are the areas with the highest rate of development of purchases and sales, with a progression of + 4.4 percent and + 4.5 percent, respectively. However, in all areas, including those just mentioned, there is a significant slowdown in growth, with rates still positive, but lower than in the previous quarter.
Little variation on the areas bought and sold
Next, regarding the area bought and sold, the second quarter of 2019 ended with 16,927,820 square meters being traded, 4.0 percent more than in the same period last year. The average home area bought and sold during the period was 106.1 square meters, up slightly (+0.2 square meters) on a trend basis.
The most traded apartments are those of intermediate size, with those between 50 and 85 square meters absorbing 30.8 percent of the market, and those between 85 and 115 square meters involving 27.4 percent of transactions. Not new, however, is the trend to "reward" apartments of even smaller sizes: in fact, it is the size class under 50 square meters that has had the most significant leap forward, with a trend progression of 6.1 percent.
Continued growth in storage facilities and parking garages
In addition to the steady development of apartment purchases and sales, the OMI report confirms the good increase in transactions on appurtenant deposits (cellars and attics) and garages and parking spaces.
Regarding the first segment, units under negotiation grew by 7.1 percent, also a large slowdown compared to the 12.3 percent trend increase that had affected the first quarter of the year. All macro-areas brought in year-on-year increases, with the sole exception of the Islands: here there is an abrupt reversal of the trend, with - 9.8%, which, in addition to being the only negative statistic for the period, contrasts strikingly with the + 10.6% in the first quarter of the year.
Positive trend, but again slowing down, for box and parking space negotiations: in the second quarter, there was a + 5.2% development of purchases and sales, a pace that is half less than in the first quarter (+ 10.4%). All macroareas were characterized by a positive trend, with percentages between + 0.8% in the South and + 6.2% in the Northwest.
