Between January and October of 2013, foreign investment in Italian commercial real estate reached an impressive €2.75 billion as increased confidence in the stability of the Eurozone prompted investors to take the leap into higher-risk markets, according to figures from Real Capital Analytics. This sum represents the greatest cross-border investment in Italian commercial real estate since 2007. As cited in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, major investors include Morgan Stanley, Germany’s Allianz Real Estate and Qatar Holding LLC.
Italy should garner additional foreign investment as, in order to raise €502 million over the coming months, the government has proposed selling 50 historic buildings. The Italian edition of the on-line newspaper The Local mentions, “[individual] property buyers are also reported to be taking advantage of lower prices in Italy’s residential market as they look for that holiday home they’ve always wanted.”
This willingness to invest comes as no surprise as Italy remains a top travel destination. For the second year in a row, Italy was voted number one in the Favorite Country category of the Readers’ Travel Awards sponsored by Condé Nast’s Traveller magazine, with 3 Italian cities in the top 10 Favorite Cities as well. In addition, 11 Italian hotels were featured in the 100 Best Hotels and Resorts in the World edition of International Traveller magazine – more than any other country included in the report, four of which were listed among the top 20.
