Calabria does not leave indifferent those who love seaside towns with a thousand-year history, traditional Italian cuisine, sandy beaches, conversations with locals, coffee and friendly "Buongiorno!" on half-empty city streets in the morning.
The region, which has long been one of the most backward in the country, is now developing dynamically. Residential real estate in Calabria remains affordable compared to other areas of Italy, but the market has shown stable, albeit small, growth in recent years. Experts call Calabria a good option for long-term investments, not forgetting that it is also one of the best places to relax.
You can buy real estate in any of the five Calabrian provinces: Catanzaro, Vibo Valentia, Cosenza, Crotone or Reggio Calabria, all of them have their own coasts – the Tyrrhenian Sea in the northwest and the Ionian Sea in the south. The coastline of Calabria stretches for 750 km.
The part washed by the Ionian Sea is called the "land of castles": no less ancient, although not as famous to foreigners as the monuments of Sicily and Sardinia, Norman castles have been preserved here.
City, town, village...
According to the data presented on the Italian Property Direct Internet resource, the average cost of a single-family house located in a small town near the sea is 60,000-70,000 euros. An example is the offers in the new Villagio Bergamotto and Residential Amusa complexes near the famous resort town of Kaulonia Marina. The average area of the proposed houses is 200 sq. m. m, each has a living room with a terrace, a bedroom, a dining room, a kitchen, two guest rooms.
Along with the standard offers in Calabria, a demanding buyer will also find elite settlements of country houses. So, in the south of Calabria, near the town of Tropea, the Tropea Resort complex has been built, which consists of 44 separate villas with sea views and 80 one- and two-bedroom apartments. All facilities are put into operation, sold with all the equipment. Each room has access to a balcony or terrace, the rooms are equipped with the latest air conditioning system. The resort has a swimming pool, a bar, a tennis court and a green garden. The minimum cost of the apartment is 125,000 euros. Getting to Tropea Resort is not difficult: the flight from Moscow to Rome takes four hours, local flights from Rome to Lamezia International Airport, which is a 30-minute drive from the residential complex. The villas and apartments at Tropea Resort have good prospects for generating rental income.
For the same price, you can buy apartments in the village of Serra D'aiello, a five-minute drive from the 7 thousandth port city of Campora San Giovanni. Unlike the newly built Tropea Resort, this building has been in existence for more than half a century, and the cost of the apartments is justified by the close proximity to the sea, as well as the fact that all the premises of the building were renovated the day before. The area of the house is 800 sq. m
. Marina Yakovleva, an official representative of the Altra Vita company, talks about the specifics of buying on the secondary market: "If you are not buying a new apartment or a newly built house, then you should additionally clarify the condition of the property. It is quite possible that a seemingly profitable option on the secondary market may subsequently require very high repair costs."
Calabria is underestimated
Currently, the Calabrian real estate market continues to take shape, and experts speak of the region as one of the few in Italy where significant changes may occur in the foreseeable future. "Thanks to significant public and private investments in the development of the region's infrastructure, as well as large–scale mass construction in the residential and hotel sectors, Calabria has a strong potential for further price growth," says Marina Yakovleva. – Relatively economical flights have made this region accessible to foreign investors with an average level of income. And an increase in the volume of foreign investment inevitably leads to an increase in prices – according to experts, up to 10-15% per year. Recently, the share of Russian buyers in this market has been constantly increasing due to a large-scale advertising campaign launched in Russia by sellers and developers."
In 2008, the volume of mortgage loans in Italy, according to the global trend, decreased significantly, and at the end of the year, the Prime Minister announced the launch of a state program aimed at curbing interest rates. Anyway, purchases on credit are becoming increasingly rare, and moderate real estate prices in Calabria provoke investors to purchase housing for the full amount.
According to Dmitry Bogatov, managing partner of VFI Europe, for foreigners interested in profitable investments in Italian real estate, the main advantage of the region is that real estate is undervalued here. "So far," the expert believes, "Calabria remains an economically backward region. The demand for housing is supported by the local population, which explains the loyal pricing policy. So, in small towns, you can buy apartments in a two-storey building for 60,000-100,000 euros. The average cost of high-class apartments located on the coast and overlooking the sea is 150,000-200,000 euros. And the main advantage in this case will be modern architecture and the ability to choose the finishing of housing to your taste."
Catch up and overtake
It should also be noted that, unlike other regions of Italy, there is no stagnation in the Calabrian real estate market at the moment: fluctuations in value are insignificant, since demand remains stable. Dmitry Bogatov notes that private foreign investors are most interested in resort real estate – villas on the coast, the annual increase in the value of which, according to Calabria Real Estate Investment, is about 20%, and in 2009 it surpassed the indicators of the secondary market.
"The government relies on the influx of foreign investment into the region, and today in Italy there are no restrictions on the purchase of real estate by non–residents," says Marina Yakovleva. – Ten years ago, resourceful entrepreneurs began to invest money in the construction of middle-class residential complexes with infrastructure: swimming pools, golf courses and playgrounds on the seashore for the purpose of subsequent resale, and did not lose. Resort accommodation here gives you the opportunity to constantly come to the sea and use the house for your own recreation, and it is profitable to rent a residence in high season, that is, from May to October, and just successfully invest your funds."
Calabrian real estate has a good potential for value growth in the long term, while there are practically no risks. The efforts of local authorities and the government of the whole of Italy are aimed at the development of the local real estate market, so the region simply has no way back and, most gratifyingly, positive dynamics are observed here even in the context of the global crisis.