According to the Italian Housing Market Survey carried out between 25 September and 25 October 2017 based on 1,463 real estate agents, in the third quarter of 2017 the share of estate agents that reported falling housing prices decreased. Compared with the previous quarter’s survey, the indicators signal an improvement of demand conditions: the number of potential buyers increased, and the average discount on initial asking prices and selling times decreased.
The share of house purchases financed with a mortgage continued to be large, at around 80 per cent. The loan-to-value ratio also remained at cyclically high levels, standing at over 70 per cent.
Expectations of estate agents regarding the housing market are much more favourable, both as compared with the previous quarter’s survey and with the survey one year ago.
