More purchases and the boom of luxury properties, the real estate market is picking up.

According to the data of the notaries of the first half, the trend favored by the fall in prices is confirmed. The amount of loans granted also increases.

Real estate transactions are increasing and prices continue to fall. A trend which means that the apartments purchased, mainly as first residences, are more than half in the upper price-range. One third are low-cost, while the purchase and sale of properties worth about one million Euros is also increasing. At the same time, the amount of loans granted is also increasing. The semi-annual notarial survey, based on sales from January to June, is an overview of the market trend.

More purchases and prices still contained. The survey therefore shows that 443,337 real estate sales of all types were recorded in the first half of 2018. Of these, 334,979 acts are related to buildings that recorded a 10.72% increase over the previous year, thanks to continuous price reductions. Indeed, if 2017 had already recorded a -17% decrease on the average value of property sales (from € 147K to € 126,512), this decrease would be even more pronounced, by -5% in the first half of 2018 (118,356 €). However, the + 26.73% increase in sales and purchases over € 900,000 should also be recorded.

First houses purchases are still growing

The first residential installation was requested on 177,212 residential buildings out of 246,539, confirming the trend that more than half of the homes are purchased with first-residence facilities. Properties for which the most requested facilities are those listed in category A / 2, ie civilian-type buildings, were 50% of the sample; secondly, economic type A / 3 dwellings, accounting for 30% of the total, while dwellings (category A / 7), represent only 10% of the sample. Acts in 90.78% of cases were considered private sellers, while corporate transactions showed a decline of 9.23%. The increase in residential property donations is also continuing, with an increase of 4.6%, with operations mainly in the South.

More real estate loans

The market trend is also reflected in loans granted. In the first six months of the year, 193,102 new transactions were completed, representing an increase of 5.92% over the same period in 2017. In terms of amounts, the prevalence of loans up to 150 000 euros is confirmed, but an increase is also noted: 8 to 10% of mortgages between 200,000 and 300,000 euros, very moderate in the past.

The sale of building land is decreasing

Finally, a larger market is confirmed for the sale of agricultural land (57,284) compared to building land (13,624). Sales and purchases increased by 2.83% in the first half of 2018 compared to the previous year, with the amounts totally concentrated in the first price bracket (less than 100,000 euros).