The price gap between new or renovated homes is widening in Milan completely from an energetic point of view and houses in good condition but with poor energy characteristics. Elaborating the latest data present in the real estate price report drawn up by the chamber of commerce of Milan, Lodi, Monza and Brianza and by the Fimaa research office, it emerges that the average price difference in the 70 areas into which the Milanese territory is divided stands at 27.8%, but with very large fluctuations in the city. It ranges from 63.5% in the Lagosta – Garibaldi area (and since the peak value indicated for the new one is 9,200 euros, evidently the Porta Nuova buildings are not included because they are a market in themselves), the same gap is recorded in the the area between viale Argonne and viale Corsica. The minimum values are recorded in Piazzale Libia and Viale Cirene (7.8%) and 9.3% in Caprilli San Siro. However, there is no doubt that the gap is destined to increase after the implementation of the European green housing directive.
The problem is that those in the city who want to invest in new things risk finding very little. The launch of new initiatives is slowing down, and in this Milan follows the national trend, but the difficulties created by the judicial situation of some construction sites are completely peculiar. The president of Fimaa Milano, Vincenzo Albanese, underlines «Many new initiatives are at a standstill waiting for the legal framework to be clarified. There is a risk of very important repercussions on the entire city economic system, due to the blockage of the supply chain and related industries and there is also the risk that the problems could worsen in the coming months”. Albanese speaks to comment on the latest update of sentiment of real estate agencies, created with the responses of 100 brokers. «The second-hand market – continues Albanese – is in slight contraction but with prices still stable. The province attracts thanks to more affordable prices and the possibility of obtaining larger homes and experiencing a better quality of life but the product is not always in line with the expectations of those who would be willing to move from Milan. For a turning point in the market, the cost of mortgages needs to fall, and the conditions are there.”
Looking at the results of the survey, a decrease in expectations emerges on the number of sales for all the typologies considered: homes, offices, shops, warehouses. Two thirds of operators expect a further decline in transactions in Monza and Milan city in particular. Among the non-residential sector, worse prospects are for offices (seen as falling by 66% of agents) than for shops.
Is that the mortgage is central another piece of data also shows this. Agents predict a decrease in sales but at the same time indicate a significant increase in demand for the purchase of homes, especially in Lodi (75% of respondents) and Monza (62%). It is clear that there are two major obstacles: the first is represented by the difficulty of financing the purchase, the second by the asking prices judged to be too high. The requests are mainly aimed at three-room apartments but in the city of Milan the demand for three-room and two-room apartments is equivalent. In the regional capital the investment component is even stronger: in the city one house in three is bought to be used as income, in the rest of the territory the proportion drops to one in four. On the other hand, the demand for rent, according to Fimaa brokers, is still increasing and rents are also rising, while house prices are seen as stable.
Summing up is Marco Zanardi, Fimaa councilor with responsibility for the Research Office «Supply and demand struggle to meet because they think on different levels and visions. Those who sell still think they can obtain the prices for 2022, those who want to buy are on the sidelines hoping to benefit from both a decrease in prices and a drop in rates. Hence longer times to close negotiations.”
