The long series of rising prices places Milan (4,868 euros / m²) at the first place in the ranking of the most expensive cities in Italy (Idealista)
In the first half of 2022, the volume of sales in the Milan’s residential market jumped by 17.5% compared to the first half of 2021 (Engel & Völkers)
In the third quarter of 2022, real estate values in Italy marked a 1 percent decline after the summer months, but Milan remains in counter-trend and continues to grow (+0.8 percent). This was highlighted by Idealista‘s research office, which explained that nationwide, housing prices remain in positive territory nationwide, with a 1.1 percent increase over the third quarter of 2021. According to the real estate portal, the long series of price increases places Milan (4,868 euros/m²) at the top of the list of the most expensive cities for those who must support the purchase of a home, ahead of Bolzano (4,474 euros/m²), Venice (4,423 euros/m²) and Florence (4,010 euros/m²).
Buying and selling in Milan
Other operators also highlight Milan’s positive trend. In fact, according to the Milan/Rome Market report for the first half of 2022, carried out by Engel & Völkers in collaboration with Nomisma, at the end of June, the volume of purchases and sales on the Milanese residential market jumped 17.5 percent compared to the first half of 2021, confirming last year’s excellent trend, which, by surpassing the 2019 transacted (+2.6 percent), had put in the best result since 2000.
“The Milan real estate market has so far proven to be very resilient to the many negative news items that have arrived from January 2022 onward, continuing its upward path supported by strong buying demand,” commented Roberto Magaglio, license partner Engel & Völkers Milan.
The Milan real estate market: focus on individual areas
Below is Engel & Völkers’ analysis divided by zone.
The report shows stationary average quotations for the historic center of Milan. In particular, for properties renovated to new, the average price range is confirmed wide at the level of individual neighborhoods: the Duomo area records average values between 8,500 and 18,500 euros/sqm. Top prices touch 20-21 thousand euros/sqm in the Quadrilatero, Brera, and Castello-Foro Buonaparte areas and 17-18 thousand euros/sqm in San Babila and Cordusio.
In the West area, prices are growing on a six-monthly basis, confirming the upward trend. Average quotations for properties renovated to new range from 4,200-4,500 euros/sqm in Gambara – Bande Nere and San Siro to 9,800 euros/sqm in Sempione – Arco della Pace – Chinatown and Vercelli – Washington. City Life prices remain out of range, between 8,800-15,500 euros/sqm.
In the East, average prices are stationary, except for the Porta Venezia and Indipendenza – Cinque Giornate – XXII Marzo areas, where the trend is upward for new/renovated-to-new housing. For these properties, buying and selling values range from 4,300-9,150 euros/sqm.
In the North Zone, average prices vary from the Central-Loreto and Isola-Gioia-Maggiolina areas (ranging from 4,600 to 7,000 euros/sqm) to the top Porta Nuova-XXV Aprile areas (reaching 19,500 euros/sqm). Quotations are rising in the Garibaldi-Moscova-Arena area, confirming the upward trend with a maximum average price of 12,000 euros/sqm.
In the South area, average prices are rising in all regions, in a range that varies, for new homes, between 6,100 euros/sqm in Medaglie d’Oro-Lodi and 10,200 euros/sqm in Porta Romana-Crocetta-Quadronno.
The two niches (or souls) of real estate in Milan.
“The war in Ukraine, rising energy and commodity costs, inflation, rising interest rates, the government crisis, and the election campaign to date have not had any major effects on the Milanese premium market,” said Roberto Magaglio, license partner Engel & Völkers Milan, “However, we speculate that from October onward these factors will begin to have an increasing impact, especially on demand for less valuable real estate by polarizing the market into two increasingly distinct niches: the valuable market and the remaining market, two niches that are distinguished not so much and not only geographically on the city map but especially by the quality of the property and the neighborhood or the services offered by the neighborhood.”
The Italian real estate market: trends in Italy
The first half of 2022 confirms the double-digit growth, albeit at a lower rate (+10.1 percent),” commented Luca Dondi, managing director of Nomisma, who recalled that in 2021 the Italian residential market had exceeded 748,000 purchases and sales, achieving one of the most striking results in the last 15 years, thanks to an annual change of 34 percent over 2020 and 24 percent over 2019, the pre-pandemic year. “Despite the deterioration in household purchasing power, caused by the surge in inflation, and the decline in consumer confidence, housing demand remains extraordinarily high,” added Dondi, who went on to say that “according to Nomisma’s Annual Survey of Italian Households, there are 4.4 percent more households – or 3.5 million versus 3.3 million – than in 2021 that have expressed an intention to purchase a home in the next 12 months.”
