About the city
Florence is the administrative center of the Tuscany region, located in the center of Italy. The city, surrounded by hills and plains, is located in the picturesque valley of the Arno River and covers an area of 102.3 square kilometers. Florence is called the economic, tourist, industrial and fashionable center of Italy. It has about 360,000 inhabitants. At one time, the city was the cradle of the Renaissance and the birthplace of such world-famous personalities as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Niccolo Machiavelli, Amerigo Vespucci, Dante Alighieri. Many famous artists, architects, poets, thinkers, and scientists lived and worked here. From the XIII to the XVIII centuries, the famous Medici dynasty ruled in Florence.The capital of Tuscany still remains a vibrant center of art, culture and gastronomy, attracting millions of tourists every year. Winters are mild and rainy, and summers are dry and quite hot. In July and August, the stone city often heats up to high temperatures. Due to the heat and the abundance of tourists, Florentines prefer to travel closer to the sea during this period. Therefore, some shops and restaurants may be closed.
Florence is definitely associated with a high quality of life, combining beautiful natural landscapes, convenient location, as well as rich opportunities for shopping, gastronomic pleasures and cultural recreation.Cultural attractions
Due to its rich and eventful past, Florence has so many attractions that it is not for nothing that it is called a museum city. This is a real box with architectural jewels. Here is the magnificent Uffizi Gallery, where masterpieces of world art are exhibited, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which became the tomb of the Medici family, the historical complex Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, the medieval Palazzo Pitti, the ancient arched bridge of Ponte Vecchio, the Basilica of Santa Croce, which houses such famous Italians as Dante Alighieri, Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Gioacchino Rossini, Leonardo Bruni. The main architectural symbol of the city is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the painted dome of which is visible from almost anywhere in the city. The best architects, sculptors and artists of Italy worked on its creation - F. Brunelleschi, F. Zuccari and J. Vasari, Donatello, Niccolo di Piero Lamberti.
In fact, Florence itself is an Italian landmark. Its terracotta roofs and ancient bridges, art galleries and modern art spaces, majestic churches and cathedrals never cease to amaze and delight tourists from all over the world. Even the numerous bombings of the Second World War and the devastating flood of 1966, which flooded the center of Florence, could not disrupt the grandeur and destroy the beauty of this city.
Shopping
Florence is one of the centers of the Italian fashion industry. Such world-famous fashion houses as Salvatore Ferragamo, Emilio Pucci, Roberto Cavalli, Ermanno Scervino, Gucci were founded here. There are numerous shops, showrooms, and outlets in the city. The central streets of Florence are dotted with fashionable boutiques with branded clothes. In addition to designer clothes and shoes, you can buy jewelry, accessories, and leather goods here. Designer Outlet Barberino is located 30 kilometers from the city, where there are more than 100 branded stores, including:Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Cavalli, Patrizia Pepe, Guess, Hugo Boss, Nike, Adidas and others.
Gastronomy
Tuscany is famous for its cuisine, and Florence is no exception here. Italian gastronomic traditions irrevocably make numerous tourists fall in love with themselves. In Florence, cafes and restaurants offering local cuisine are concentrated on almost every corner: Florentine steak, Tuscan antipasti, desserts and biscuits, local varieties of gelato, Florentine fast food lampredotto, which is a sandwich with a cow's stomach. Under the ancient dome of the city market, gourmets will find cheeses of varying degrees of maturity, exquisite truffles, fresh olive oil, juicy fruits and vegetables grown under the Italian sun.
Transport
Florence is located in the center of Tuscany and has good transport links with other cities in Italy and Europe, with which it is connected by buses and high-speed trains. Amerigo Vespucci Airport accepts flights from Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Zurich and many other European cities. There are several other international airports in the immediate vicinity. Buses and trams form the basis of urban transport. Taxis are not cheap, but the car rental service is well developed.
Who is interested in buying real estate in Florence?
Florence has always been one of the most attractive places for foreign citizens in terms of buying real estate. And it's not just that it's located in the center of the country and it's easy to get to anywhere in Italy. And not even in the status of the cultural capital. More and more foreigners are choosing Florence for permanent residence because of the opportunity to give their children a prestigious education, one of the best in Europe. The city is home to several famous international schools and universities: the University of Florence, the Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Transnational Management, the European University Institute and others. Florence is also home to one of the largest and most modern hospitals specializing in pediatric medicine, among other things.Buyers Florentine real estate can be divided into two categories. The first is the people who choose Florence as a place to live or relax. This category appreciates the Tuscan capital for its measured lifestyle, richness of cultural sites and proximity to famous places such as the Chianti wine zone or seaside resorts like Forte dei Marmi.
The second category is people who value Florence in terms of investments. They invest in apartments or villas for rent, hotels, commercial funds. Due to the year-round flow of tourists from all over the world, the return on investment can reach 10%.
The main foreign buyers are English-speaking citizens from the USA and Great Britain, as well as representatives of the nearest European countries - France, Austria, Germany. Among the private buyers of objects in the luxury segment, worth over 1 million euros, Americans, British and residents of Northern Europe are also in the lead.
Russian-speaking citizens are also showing active interest. As a rule, these are people who have been to this magnificent city more than once. Russian Russian is a beautiful Orthodox church in Florence, under the patronage of the Strozzi family, people who honor their Russian roots and are fluent in Russian. Despite the difficulties caused by political events, Russians still have the opportunity to buy an apartment in the city or villa in the vicinity of Florence. There are no special restrictions on buying real estate for Belarusians and Ukrainians. Citizens of Kazakhstan without a residence permit, on the basis of mutual agreements between the countries, do not have the right to purchase Italian real estate. The only way is to register a company in Italy and purchase real estate in a legal entity.
What does the real estate market offer?
In the last 10 years, the real estate market in Florence has been characterized by high demand and a small number of offers. Many objects are considered Trophy Assets due to their inaccessibility and historical value. Unlike Rome or Milan, Florence does not have so many interesting objects for official sale. If penthouses, apartments with terraces on Lungarno and other similar objects appear on sale, they do not go into advertising, but are sold off-market in the closed housing market.
The historical center of Florence is a UNESCO heritage site, so it is impossible to find new buildings here. This is the reverse side of the status of the "museum city". But sometimes objects in completely restored old buildings appear on the market. New buildings are usually located far from the center.
The main housing stock of the city is represented by apartments from 50 sq. m., but among the offers on the market there are also objects of a smaller area. It should be noted that Florence still has a large number of apartments with characteristic high ceilings and frescoes.
The Florentine real estate market offers properties in different price categories. On average,the cost of real estate in the historical center starts from 4,500 euros per square meter. But on the market, an apartment in a more or less acceptable condition will cost an average of 7000 euros per square meter. Apartments after major renovation in the historical center cost approximately 9000-10000 euros per square meter. View apartments are more expensive, the cost per square meter can reach 20,000 euros.Territorial division
Officially, Florence is divided into five urban districts: Centro Storico, Campo di Marte, Gavinana-Galluzzo, Isolotto-Legnaia, Rifredi. On a global scale, Florence can be divided into a historical center and a periphery. In turn, the historical center is divided into several districts. The most prestigious of them are Lungarni, located along the banks of the Arno River, and Oltrarno, which is located on the opposite side of the river from the historical center. The heart of the historic city is Tornabuoni Street with its luxury boutiques and jewelry stores and the main squares. The hills overlooking Florence are also considered prestigious locations.
Noisy and crowded tourist quarters are less comfortable for permanent residence. Oltrarno and Lungarni are attractive areas to live in. The heart of the historical center is more suitable for investment.
Fans of country life who would like to live in their own house, with vineyards and a swimming pool, surrounded by cypresses and olive trees, should pay attention to the nearby Florentine hills 5-8 kilometers from the city. For example, the picturesque town of Fiesole, located a 20-minute drive from Florence.
Tourism potential and prospects for short-term rentals
Florence is one of the most visited cities in Italy, where about 11 million tourists come every year. Its tourism potential is so high that it has become a problem for the city. Recently, there has been talk about how to solve the issue of oversupply of tourists. At the same time, this is a big plus for people who invest in tourist rentals. Florence was ahead of the rest of Italy in this matter. It was the Florentines who were the first to rent out their apartments to tourists. Already in 2015, there was a boom in short-term rental housing in Florence on the Airbnb platform. At that time, this business was just beginning to develop in Rome, and in Milan, perhaps, it is still not developed. In Florence, there are 14,000 units with tourist rentals for 170,000 real estate units. Moreover, according to a statistical study, the distribution of the city is uneven. Of all the apartments for rent on Airbnb, 76% are located in the historical center. This situation has forced the city authorities to think about taking measures to protect their residents. For example, in the near future it is planned to establish a minimum period of stay in historical areas, introduce tax incentives to encourage permanent residence in such locations, and other restrictions are being considered.The profitability of an average apartment in Florence is 3-4% per year with an average rental price of 188 euros per day. But in practice, there are cases when the owners of the apartment earn up to 10%. At the same time, they do not use the services of third-party agencies. In fact, renting an apartment to tourists is for such citizens the main full-fledged job without vacations and weekends.
Real estate market trends
Over the past 15 years, real estate prices in Florence have been characterized by stability and constant small growth, which has been recorded since 2016. Even according to the results of 2023, when there was a significant decrease in transactions, mainly in the periphery of Florence due to an increase in the ECB key rate, real estate prices increased by 0.8%. All this is a consequence of investment attractiveness.
In recent years, there has been a massive entry into the Italian market of large investment funds that buy out entire buildings of historical value. Among them are American funds Blackstone, Colony Capital, Hines English Aermont Capital, as well as Chinese French and German companies. In this unstable historical period, there is a clear intention on the part of global investment funds to invest in a quiet European harbor, rather than in young emerging markets. Perhaps potential buyers should follow the professionals in this business.
As mentioned above, real estate in Florence is Trophy Assets, and its purchase should be treated not as an ordinary transaction, but as a real trophy hunt. If there is a desire to get this trophy, then all options should be considered, since the choice will be small. Florentine real estate is a very liquid asset that can be used and cashed out at any time as quickly as a bank check. Therefore, the purchase of housing in the city and its surroundings can be confidently recommended for both personal use and investment.
Thank you for the help in preparing the material from our experts in Italy:
Elena Dvurechenskaya, director of the company ITALCASA
Daria Zhuravleva, real estate agent of the company REAL Prestige Property
