Growing property market in 2024: buying and selling, mortgages and prices on the rise

But analysing, specifically, only residential property sales, the negative trend is reversed. In fact, 2024 ends with 634,498 transactions, returning to 2021 levels (628,137 transactions), up 15.8% from 547,838 in 2023.

An analysis of purchases and sales - between 2016 and 2024 - also shows a growing propensity to purchase second homes, which in 2024 will amount to over 282,000 transactions compared to 206,000 in 2016. That Italians are willing to spend more in the name of energy efficiency is confirmed by data on the purchase prices of second homes in 2024.

A total of 36.38% of purchases by companies were below EUR 100 thousand, 18.28% between EUR 100 thousand and EUR 200 thousand, 15.9% between EUR 200 thousand and EUR 300 thousand, and 10.28% between EUR 300 thousand and EUR 400 thousand. In contrast, almost 70% of second-home purchases from private individuals remained below the EUR 100 thousand threshold.

The largest trading volumes remain in the North: the region in which the most sales were made in 2024 is Lombardy (with 19.22%).

This is followed by Piedmont (8.99%) and Lazio (8.94%). The age group in which most buildings are purchased is confirmed as being between 18-35 years old, with 26.52% of transactions in 2024.

55.31% of the residential properties were purchased with the first home allowance, which is an increase compared to 2023 (when the bar stood at 50.8%) and 2022 (when the figure was 53.12%).
Also in 2024, more purchases and sales were made by private individuals than by companies.

This applies both to residential properties, sold by private individuals in 87.46% of cases

In 2024, the mortgage sector is recovering from the sharp decline in the previous year. After the 26% decline observed between 2022 and 2023, the new surveys show an overall increase in mortgages of 5.7% year-on-year, bringing the number of loans disbursed in 2024 to 340,611 (compared to 322,098 in 2023). This is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels (there were 396,779 mortgages in 2019), but the reversal of the trend suggests an improving picture, although still affected by interest rate trends and economic uncertainty.

The total capital disbursed for mortgage loans on real estate also confirmed this increase (+9.1%), rising from EUR 53,180,271,451 in 2023 to EUR 57,996,070,406 in 2024. The growth was mainly driven by first home purchase transactions. Subrogations accounted for 4.8% of the total (essentially unchanged from the 4.79% recorded in 2023).

Gographically speaking, in 2024 almost all regions showed an increase between the first and second half of the year, reversing a negative trend seen in the second half of 2023. In terms of the time distribution of transactions, the first three months of 2024 saw a significant decline compared to the same quarter of 2023, with a drop of 13.8 per cent.

As interest rates fall, April 2024 begins to be the first month to see an increase in the number of mortgages. As far as the amount of mortgages is concerned, loans below EUR 50,000 remain rather limited (around 3.5% of the total), while those above EUR 300,000 stand at 6%, highlighting that the medium-high bracket (between EUR 100,000 and EUR 250,000) remains the most representative and is growing by 9.1% compared to 2023. The rise in rates, in fact, continues to hold back transactions of higher amounts.

With regard to the age of the population covered by the mortgages, the surveys see a situation substantially unchanged with respect to 2023, with a slight decrease in the incidence of mortgages granted to the 'under 36s', which fell by half a percentage point compared to the previous year.

The increase in the value of homes is significant: in 2023 the median value of purchases was 154,416 euro while in 2024 it increased to 166,395 (+7.8 per cent). The median value of residential properties purchased by individuals with first home tax relief in 2024 stands at 119,000, up slightly from 113,000 in 2023. This clearly shows a variability in prices, which is also influenced by rising renovation costs and inflationary effects on building materials.

On the other hand, real estate purchased by companies with first-home subsidies recorded a further increase in their median value, which rose to around 260,000, compared to 255,000 in 2023 and even 220,000 in 2021.

This trend confirms the lively demand for new construction or recently refurbished properties, especially in large urban areas where house prices offered by companies show greater resilience. The distribution of values for first home purchases from private individuals shows that 41.21% of properties are below 99k, down slightly from 43.77% in 2023, reflecting a slight shift towards intermediate price ranges and rising prices.

In 2024 the share of properties exceeding one million euro remains very limited (0.34%), while the most lively band appears to be the one between 100 thousand and 199,999, which exceeds 37.25% of the total. In the case of purchases from companies with first home tax relief, 28.81% of purchases are in the range between 200 thousand and 299,999 euro, up from 27.82% in 2023. This phenomenon can be attributed both to the higher cost of new homes and to an improvement in the quality of constructions for sale (e.g. high energy class, presence of bonuses and incentives for earthquake-resistant renovations and energy efficiency).

Even in 2024, most second homes show values of less than 99 thousand euros: 69.17% of homes purchased by private individuals and 36.38% of those purchased by businesses are in this range. This highlights how investment in second homes remains a widespread phenomenon, sometimes concentrated on properties in need of renovation or located in less central areas.

In the luxury property segment - worth more than EUR 1 million - the increase in the number of purchases and sales in 2024 of second homes by companies is remarkable (+28.15 per cent). However, the prevalence of purchases as second homes is confirmed (a total of 3,237), especially in tourist resorts or luxury residences in large cities. Newly built or fully renovated properties also make up the largest share in this segment.