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In this report, IPI summarizes the performance of the Italian residential market in Q1 2025.
In the first quarter of this year, the market showed clear signs of recovery, with home sales up 11.2% compared to the same period in 2024. Over 172,000 units were sold, approximately 17,000 more than the previous year.
The increase was seen in both provincial capitals, up 11.6%, and smaller municipalities, which rose by 11%. The positive trend was driven primarily by northern and central Italy, where transactions rose by 12% and 15%, respectively, while growth in the south and on the islands was more moderate, with increases of 6% and 7%.

The share of purchases eligible for “first-home” subsidies reached 72.5%, up from the previous quarter, while mortgage loans were used in 45.8% of sales. This increase was driven by a drop in the average interest rate, which fell to 3.22%. The total capital disbursed through mortgages reached €10.3 billion, exceeding the amount for the first quarter of 2024 by more than €3 billion.

In Italy’s nine major cities, according to data from IPI’s direct branches, the average growth in sales was 9%. Genoa and Turin recorded increases of over 12%, Rome and Bari over 10% (with Rome seeing over 85% of purchases as “primary residences”), Bologna stood at +9.3%, Milan at +7.1%, and Naples at +6.1%, while Padua and Florence showed declines of 1.5% and 6.2%, respectively. Milan maintained the highest share of new construction sales, although it fell below 10%. In the cities of Rome, Bologna, Milan, and Florence, more than half of all sales were financed by mortgages.

The rental market grew more slowly, with approximately 257,000 new contracts registered (+1% year-over-year). Growth was more significant in municipalities with high housing demand, where it reached 1.4%. The total amount of annual rent agreed upon rose to €1.9 billion, an increase of 5%, driven primarily by rent-controlled, temporary, and student leases. In contrast, standard long-term leases declined.

Read the report

According to Istat, in the fourth quarter of 2024, housing prices rose by 4.5% year-over-year. The increase was more pronounced for new construction, which rose by 9.4%, while existing homes saw a 3.4% increase.