Italian real estate market under the magnifying glass. According to preliminary estimates released today by Istat, in the second quarter of 2021 the index of house prices (IPAB) purchased by families, for housing or investment purposes, showed an increase of 1.7% compared to the previous quarter and by 0.4% compared to the same period of 2020 (it was + 1.7% in the first quarter of 2021). Istat underlined that the trend increase in house prices is attributable, in particular, to those of new houses (+ 2%, slowing down from + 4% in the first quarter); the prices of existing homes also rose slightly (+ 0.1%) which also slowed down (+ 1.2% in the previous quarter).
In all geographical areas there was, on a cyclical basis, an increase in house prices. On an annual basis, however, the dynamics are different. In the North-West and in the North-East, the growth in house prices was slight and showed a slowdown to a large extent compared to the previous quarter (from + 1.8% to + 0.1% and from +2.3, respectively. % to +0.3). In detail, house prices in the Center showed a more marked increase than the national average and a slight deceleration compared to the first quarter (from + 1.4% to + 1.2%). In the South and Islands, on the other hand, prices showed a slight decline, reversing the trend (from + 1.4% to -0.2%). In Milan and Turin, while slowing down, the growth on an annual basis in house prices is confirmed (respectively from + 5.2% in the first quarter to + 1.4% and from + 1.9% to + 1.6%) . In Rome, on the other hand, house prices return to decrease from + 1.7% to -0.5%.