Italy property sales down by one quarter

Italian property sales plummeted by almost one-quarter last year as the recession took its toll, according to new figures.

Data from the country’s tax agency (Agenzia Delle Entrate) said that 993,339 transactions were recorded in 2012, almost 330,000 less than 2011 – or a decrease of 24.8 per cent.

Sales dropped across the 12 most populated cities in Italy in the second half of the year, with a drip of 29.6 per cent in the fourth quarter marking the steepest annual decline since 2004.

The only exception to the trend is Naples, adds the report, which saw strong growth in sales in the fourth quarter: after three quarters of declines, transactions jumped by 19.1 per cent.

Indeed, the fourth quarter did mark a slight improvement for the whole country, with transactions in the residential sector higher than the third quarter, despite the year-on-year dip. Does this fourth quarter uptick herald the start of a turnaround? The overall figures suggest not.