Financing

Liquidity from real estate: fewer options for the over 60s

More than ten years after their launch, dedicated formulas for access to credit for the elderly population are struggling to take off

by Marco Barlassina

20 March 2026

Tendenze. La maggiore longevità impone la ricerca di soluzioni dedicate a fronteggiare le spese legate all’avanzare dell’età. (Adobe Stock)

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Mortgage loans
Sale of bare ownership
Liquidity Mortgage

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Longevity and the silver economy have become two buzzwords that are even abused in times of the inversion of the demographic pyramid and the lengthening of the average age. While there are in fact numerous investment products designed with the aging population in mind, there is a substantial gap in the offer for solutions dedicated to coping with the expenses associated with advancing age or the need to maintain the standard of living, or even to financially support children.

An ISTAT report published in February reported that 83.6 per cent of elderly-only households live in home ownership. It is no coincidence that access to credit for the over-60s often passes through solutions that allow them to enhance the value of their real estate assets. Albeit with still limited possibilities of 'monetisation'.

Mortgage loans

Law 44 of 2 April 2015, which regulated a loan aimed at property owners aged 60 and over, the mortgage life loan (Pvi), promised to turn the tide, but proved ineffective. A little over ten years later, only one credit institution still offers this possibility. And even disbursements have fallen to just a few tens of millions of euro, 'in the face,' explains Claudio Pacella, managing director of 65Plus, 'of an enormous need for credit, as demonstrated by the success of this instrument in the rest of Europe and the growth of transactions for the sale of nude property'.

The Pvi provides the possibility of obtaining a sum from a bank by giving the house as collateral. It is a fixed-rate loan, secured by a mortgage on real estate, the duration of which generally coincides with the customer's longevity. The policyholder pays no monthly instalment, but at the time of his death the heirs must repay the capital plus interest or alternatively decide to sell the property. In that case, if the proceeds exceed the debt, the heirs will collect the difference.

Intesa Sanpaolo is the only bank that currently offers this instrument (there were three banks active in this segment just a few years ago) in a logic of completeness of the offer and as an additional solution to support family finance. It is - the bank explains - an innovation that goes beyond the transfer of bare ownership of real estate, protecting family balance and serenity, including economic serenity, of the elderly with a conscious choice on the part of the heirs. The bank itself makes it clear that the life mortgage loan is still a niche loan. The over-60s are therefore turning to products not specifically designed for them: the sale of bare ownership and liquidity mortgages.

The sale of bare ownership

The most recent report on the residential sector compiled by the the Real Estate Market Observatory of the Inland Revenue Agency reported a total of just under 28,000 purchases and sales of bare ownership rights by 2024. The instrument makes it possible to sell the house while retaining the usufruct and, thus, full enjoyment of it for the rest of one's life. The seller has immediate economic liquidity, while the buyer makes a profitable investment for the future. Upon termination of the usufruct (usually with the death of the usufructuary), the bare owner acquires full ownership of the property. This is why the older the age of the seller, the higher the value of the bare ownership increases, since, based on average life expectancy, the seller will have fewer years left to live in their home.

When comparing Piv and nude property, there are several factors to consider. Intesa Sanpaolo emphasises that these are instruments with different characteristics that can be modulated according to the personal, economic and family needs of the owner and that the main difference between the use of the life mortgage loan and the sale of bare ownership consists, in the first case, in the willingness of the owner to maintain full ownership of the property for himself and his heirs (who will then have to repay the loan to the bank) or, as for bare ownership, to sell his home while maintaining the use of the same.

The liquidity mortgage

Although not reserved for the over-60s, the liquidity mortgage has carved out a space in meeting the needs of the elderly. According to Assofin data updated to the third quarter of 2025, the liquidity mortgage market reached 298.7 million euros. This is a loan secured by an owned property, with which to obtain liquidity to be used for a wide variety of purposes.

The main credit institutions, contacted by Il Sole 24 Ore, offer this facility without generally stipulating a maximum age for the start of the mortgage. Instead, there is typically a maximum age at the end of the amortisation plan, which, depending on the institution, varies between76 and 80 years (this is the case with Banco BPM and Intesa Sanpaolo). The amounts that can be disbursed are often in the region of 50% of the value of the property granted as collateral.

In the case of Ing, which claims a market share of 34% in this market, the financeable amount ranges from a minimum of EUR 50,000 to a maximum of EUR 500,000. In the case of liquidity and renovation, the maximum lending rate is 80% of the value of the mortgaged property. As a rule, rates are far lower than those of a personal loan, but higher than those of a classic mortgage.