The Italian Housing Market Survey has been released for the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to the Italian Housing Market Survey of a sample of 1,488 real estate agents conducted between 7 January and 6 February 2025, signs of rising housing prices strengthened in the fourth quarter of 2024, although assessments of stability continued to prevail. The share of agents who sold at least one property in the quarter is the highest since the time series began. The number of house sales increased year on year. The average discount on asking prices stayed close to historical lows and the time on market remained very short.
The upward pressures on prices were mainly driven by the recovery in demand, with assessments on the number of potential buyers improving significantly compared with the previous year, while supply remained weak. Improved access to credit contributed to sustaining demand: the share of agents citing difficulties in obtaining mortgage loans as a key reason for cancelled listings fell for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Assessments of rents are at their highest level since the survey was launched: upward pressures on rents are driven by robust demand, while housing supply remains low, partly due to owners' preference for short-term rentals (i.e. for less than 30 days). According to agents' assessments, this preference also affects sales.
Expectations for the overall national market and for the agents' own market, both in the reference quarter and over a two-year horizon, improved again year on year. As regards the price outlook for the current quarter, the balance between the percentages of responses pointing to an increase and those indicating a decrease regarding has widened even further.
