WORDS BY FLEUR KINSON

The foot of the Italian boot holds some of the country’s hottest property prospects. Buyers heading towards the country’s beautiful south can expect great bargains

Backward, corrupt, impoverished and inaccessible—these were some of the impressions that used to keep buyers away from southern Italy. It’s true the 20th century wasn’t a great time for the bottom of the Italian boot, but the infant 21st century marks a whole new era. Today’s impressions are likely to include unspoilt landscapes, warm welcomes, endless sunshine and sound investment. The foot is suddenly alive and kicking.

Italy’s far south has some of the country’s lowest and fastest-rising property prices. It’s currently one of the best places to invest in a slice of Italy’s inimitable brand of la dolce vita. You can easily get a good-quality beach apartment down here for less than €100,000, a village home for under €40,000, and a well-positioned country house with land for under €200,000.

Italy has long proven itself a stable and reliable country for property investors. Huge amounts of government cash have successfully jump-started the southern economy, and visitor interest is steadily expanding. This is an area whose fortunes are definitely on the up.

Taking the high road near
Guardia Piemontese in Calabria The far south has three distinct regions: Calabria the toe, Basilicata the instep and Puglia the high heel. Each appeals to a different kind of buyer. Thrifty beachcombers appreciate the bargains round the toe, olive-grove-lovers and fashionable sunseekers lap up the heel, while canny prospectors are just beginning to investigate the little-known wilds of the instep.

Over the last two years, Calabria has put itself on the foreign buyers’ map with a building boom in high-quality seaside apartments. Gaynor Peycke from West Sussex bought a one-bed off-plan in 2006. She paid €58,000, and it’s now valued at more than €80,000. “Calabria is like Spain was when I first went there 40 years ago,” she says. “But it will never get like Spain is now. They’re strict on building controls—no new building allowed within a certain distance of a beach, for example.”

Conrad Bedford of Overseas Property Shop notes that Calabria’s seaside developments are sensitively small. “Unlike in some other European countries where you might get 200 or 300 apartments in a single complex, here you might get 15 or 40,” he says. “Calabria is a breath of fresh air. Local people live a very traditional, family-oriented lifestyle. It’s like going back in time 20 years.”

Expect to find one- and two-bed seaside apartments in Calabria for less than €100,000, and new-build villas for about €180,000. Go a few miles inland, and you could get a village house needing minor work for as little as €35,000—a good option if you fancy wintertime visits, as some beach towns become ghost towns out of season.

Sea-lovers should also think about Puglia—the rocky high heel that first opened foreign eyes to the delights of Italy’s far south, about five years ago. Quirky and exotic, with distinctive food and architecture, Puglia is a stimulating place that feels like nowhere else in Italy. It’s the far south’s big success story—very prosperous and popular, but still slow-paced and unspoilt. Over the last half decade, many British buyers have succumbed to Puglia, and last year this once-obscure region was among the top five most visited in Italy.

Celebrity interest has further boosted Puglia’s profile. Helen Mirren bought a small castle here shortly after playing Elizabeth II in The Queen, and you may have seen tabloid photos of her frolicking in a red bikini on Puglian rocks this summer. Other recent home-buyers include Francis Ford Coppola, Mickey Rourke, Stuart Copeland and Amanda Lamb—who knows a thing or two about where to choose property!

Puglia’s prices climbed wildly a couple of years ago and have since been more settled. It’s not as cheap as Calabria and Basilicata, but Puglia is still considered a very good buy, especially as visitor numbers continue to rise. The region has safeguarded its charms, and made itself lovelier where necessary, for example in Brindisi, an unappealing transport hub a decade ago but now an utterly revitalised little city whose pretty, pedestrianised streets offer a dazzling passeggiata of an evening.

You can still get a decent country home in Puglia for €100,000, but a good-sized place with land will generally ask about €250,000. Village homes can be under €100,000. David and Sally Body from Scotland bought a three-bedroom holiday home in olive groves near Brindisi last year for just €95,000. “I thought buying in Italy would be more bureaucratic than in the UK,” David says, “but actually the whole process was quicker and easier. Puglia is very rural and friendly. It’s definitely charming.” Puglia’s mad little trulli buildings, with their round rooms and conical roofs, are no longer so sought after by today’s buyers. Foursquare lamia cottages and stately old masserie (farmhouse-mansions) are the hot traditional styles now. A good masseria might command €300,000 and need €200,000 of renovation work. Puglian builders are dedicated craftsmen, and local homes often feature beautiful vaulted ceilings.

Seekers of rural idyll should also investigate Basilicata, one of Italy’s least-known regions.

Trulli at home: from top, stunning
Rivello in Basilicata; trulli houses
line the streets of Alberobello in
PugliaThe rolling countryside round the ancient rock-hewn city of Matera is a place to watch with rural homes under €50,000 and villas with land under €150,000.

Wide-eyed visitors are starting to trickle into this striking Italian backwater, and its future looks promising. Like the rest of Italy’s foot, Basilicata is stepping up to better things.

Top tips for buying in Italy’s far south

• The whole Italian peninsula is an earthquake zone. By law, all homes must be strengthened against seismic activity. If you’re restoring an old property, make sure it meets modern safety standards.

• Although you often cannot make a claim for these until after work has finished, there are some EU grants available for restoring certain homes in Italy’s south.

• If you are planning to rent out your property to holidaymakers, you’ll hugely increase its rentability by adding a pool. Note that a drive of more than 90 minutes from the airport will deter many clients.

• Puglia is currently the best southern region for holiday rentals—especially its Salento peninsula, Itria Valley, Ostuni and Lecce. In Basilicata, the best rental spots are Maratea and Matera, and in Calabria the Tropea promontory.

• Italy has no capital gains tax on property profits on homes kept longer than five years, and no inheritance tax on properties valued below ¤1 million.

Contacts

www.andiamohomes.com

www.buyahouse-italy.com

www.casaenotria.com

www.dreamhomesinmatera.com

www.interitalia.biz

www.overseaspropertyshop.com

www.where-to-buy-in-italy.com