Italian Housing Market Survey. Short-term Outlook - 2023 Q1

The Italian Housing Market Survey has been released for the first quarter of 2023.

The survey looks at current trends and short-term expectations for the residential real estate market and is conducted by the Bank of Italy together with Tecnoborsa and Agenzia delle Entrate.

According to the Italian Housing Market Survey of 1,446 real estate agents conducted between 9 January and 3 February 2023, in the fourth quarter of 2022 assessments of a decrease in house prices slightly exceeded those of an increase for the first time since the second half of 2021, though nearly two thirds of agents continue to expect stable prices. Furthermore, expectations of falling prices for the current quarter have become more widespread. The share of agents that sold at least one property reached the highest level recorded since the start of the survey in 2009. However, new sale listings continued their downward trend and assessments of a decrease in the number of potential buyers continued to outweigh those of an increase, though less so than in the previous quarter. The time on market and the average discount on asking prices increased slightly. Current and expected rents are reported to be rising again. Prospects for the housing market remain unfavourable, including over a two-year horizon. According to the vast majority of agents, consumer price inflation developments in the next twelve months will negatively affect housing demand and selling prices.