The Bank of Italy released its Italian Housing Market Survey for the fourth quarter of 2024, indicating that signs of rising house prices strengthened even though assessments of stability continued to prevail. The survey also points to buoyant market conditions, with the highest share of agents completing at least one sale since the series began, year-on-year growth in transactions, discounts on asking prices close to historical lows, and very short time on market. Based on responses from 1,488 real estate agents collected between 7 January and 6 February 2025, upward pressure on prices was mainly attributed to a recovery in demand alongside weak supply. Improved access to credit supported demand, with the share of agents citing mortgage-loan difficulties as a key cause of cancelled listings falling for a fifth consecutive quarter. Rent assessments reached their highest level since the survey’s launch, with rent increases linked to robust demand and limited supply, partly reflecting owners’ preference for short-term rentals of less than 30 days, which agents also associate with effects on sales. Expectations for the national market and agents’ own markets improved again year on year for both the reference quarter and a two-year horizon. For the current quarter, the balance of responses widened further in favour of price increases.

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