Fiaip, record summer for tourist rentals, but winter worries

After a record-breaking summer, with a 9% increase in leases for tourism purposes compared to 2023 and a significant average increase in rental fees of +6%, a 3% drop in the number of leases is expected for the winter, primarily dictated by the recent measures taken by some mayors of large cities, but also by the increase in fulfilments and consequent sanctions introduced with the 'Anticipi decree', in force as of 1 January 2025. This is what emerged from the Fiaip National Real Estate Report on the trend of the tourism real estate market in Italy - 2024 data and 2025 forecasts - presented in Rome this morning, in the Sala Caduti di Nassirya of the Senate, drawn up by the Fiaip Study Centre in relation to the 2024/2025 winter season with reference to the main Italian resorts, together with a focus on the trend of the 2024 summer season.

The summer season saw a +9% increase in tourist leases compared to the summer of 2023, thanks above all to the jump in foreign tourists, together with a significant average increase in rents of +6 (confirming how owners increasingly prefer short leases over ordinary ones, both for the greater protection against the risk of non-payment or failure to return the property) satisfying in terms of profitability. An increase in profitability dictated primarily by the adjustment of rents to inflation, which has risen sharply in recent years, as well as by a higher "demand" that has confirmed an average gross yield estimated at between 5% and 8%, especially in the large cities of art and the most renowned seaside and mountain resorts. Rents will remain substantially unchanged with a slight increase (+2%), however, in cities of art.

For the winter now just around the corner, on the other hand, a slight drop of -3% in the number of tourist leases is expected compared to last season, a drop primarily dictated - according to Fiaip - by the recent measures taken by some mayors of large cities, above all Florence and Venice, aimed at hindering tourist rentals, but also by the increase in fulfilments and consequent sanctions introduced with the "Anticipi" decree in force as of 1 January 2025. Rents will remain substantially unchanged with a slight increase (+2%) in art cities where demand remains very high compared to what the market offers. Italian families rent houses on average for a week, preferably large ones (with 4 bedrooms or more) spending, depending on the tourist location, between 900-1500€/week.

Finally, in general, the percentage of purchases of second homes by private individuals fell by 5% in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. In particular, according to Fiaip, "purchases of properties aimed at tourist rentals are falling due to fears generated by a transversal announced desire, particularly in municipalities with a strong vocation for tourism, universities and work, such as Rome, Milan, Florence and Bologna, to limit or ban tourist rentals". There is an increase in the number of real estate agencies that broker and manage short-term rentals (+10%), especially for tourist purposes.

"A very positive summer season has closed for the tourism real estate market," said the president of the Centro Studi Fiaip, Francesco La Commare. "Despite some criticalities in relation to the harmonisation of regional databases with the national one," added Leonardo Piccoli, Fiaip national vice-president in charge of the tourism sector, "the entire category welcomes the introduction of the Cin (national identification code)".