The Bank of Italy published its Survey on the Italian Housing Market for the fourth quarter of 2024, based on responses from 1,488 real estate agents, pointing to strengthening upward pressure on house prices while most agents still judged prices broadly stable. Market conditions also appeared tighter, with a record-high share of agents selling at least one home in the quarter, more brokered transactions than in the same period of 2023, and both discounts from initial asking prices and selling times remaining near historic lows. The survey linked the pickup in price pressures mainly to stronger demand, with assessments of the number of potential buyers improving significantly from a year earlier while supply remained weak. Improved access to credit also supported demand, as the share of agents citing mortgage-related difficulties among the main reasons for ending a selling mandate fell for a fifth consecutive quarter. Rental market assessments reached their highest levels since the survey began, reflecting robust demand and scarce supply, which agents partly attributed to landlords’ preference for short-term lets of under 30 days, a factor they also associated with home sales. Expectations for both the national market and agents’ reference markets improved versus the corresponding period of 2023 for the survey quarter and over a two-year horizon, and the net balance of respondents expecting price increases in the current quarter rose further.

Original source View in tracker