"Investments in Italy: a transparent, fast and convenient market - the key to stimulation."

If real estate transactions decrease, the premium class market remains stable. What to expect in the coming months? What is the value of real estate in the future? What interest do investors show? And how will the work of real estate professionals change? To understand the current situation in the industry, perspectives and potential, idealista/news asked several questions to Tomazo Aguttsi, CEO of Engel & Völkers Italy, and Francesco Deiane, sales manager at Engel & VölkersRome.

The real estate transaction market is declining due to the economic situation. However, the premium-class market remains stable. What can we expect in the upcoming months?

Aguttsi: "First of all, it is worth noting that there is a big difference in dynamics between the Italian markets: Milan has its trend, Rome has its own, Florence has its own. I expect the second half of the year to see a slightly smaller decline, with a more stable situation, but I do not expect a sharp change in the market. Today, I see very long terms and insane bureaucracy: it takes a lot of time to complete a deal, especially with a certain value, and those who apply for a mortgage must face a long review period. This does not help at all. In addition, those who are selling today want to sell at a very high price, perhaps not in line with the market, while those who want to buy want to get a good deal. Under these conditions, reaching an agreement becomes very difficult. Furthermore, another aspect is added: foreign clients have cooled off a bit. They used to be very active before because our country is still very attractive in terms of square meter cost; evenMilan, which seems uncontrollable to us, is normal administration for foreign investors. German clients, who used to buy well, are very scared today, and Germany is also not growing as it used to, experiencing difficulties and being more cautious. All of this significantly slows down the market."

Does bureaucracy greatly affect investors?

"Agutcci: "Yes, in my opinion, very much so. Investors are experiencing difficulties. We have a wonderful country, Italy is very dear to us, it offers investors interesting prices, but we have the burden of bureaucracy and complexities that are not understandable to them. If selling a flat takes seven to eight months, the operation becomes economically challenging. Greece, whose market is similar to ours, is moving much faster. Certainly, bureaucratic deadlines are a barrier. In my opinion, we need to work on simplifying bureaucracy and controlling transactions. Investments are stimulated by a more transparent, faster, and simpler market".""."

Is this situation also typical forRome?

Diana: "Yes, this situation is confirmed forRome as well. We are dealing with months of high demand and some decrease in supply, in some cases the Roman market has struggled to meet multiple requests. The market is cyclical, now we are going through a phase where balance needs to be restored. In the coming months, we expect a slight decrease in demand and an increase in supply in the market. This will lead to balancing. In the next six months, we expect practically identical data."

Agutsev: "I think we will start to see recovery even inRome by the summer of2024. And because prices today are not showing signs of decline."

What is the situation in the luxury market?

Aguzzi: "If we look at the highest segment, above two million, typically buyers don't need mortgages or financing. There are some offers that are going away even faster. If we had 30% of luxury properties for sale right now, we would be happy, but we don't have them. The situation is more difficult for mid to high end properties, around a million. And the lower the price, the more difficult the situation. But you also have to take into account that properties of high value are often difficult to sell, for example, because of architectural constraints. We have a huge portfolio of such properties. I think that this process should be simplified as well".

Italians are the real homeowners. Will the situation change or will we continue to bet on real estate?

Aguzzi: "It all depends on perspective.

Talking about your Group, what are the strengths of your brand?

Aguzzi: "Let's start with the name. It's a German name, which on the one hand doesn't help, but on the other hand gives you a sense of confidence and trust. Professionally, we are recognized as very competent. The international network works very well: when we have good properties and place them in our network, we attract investors in local markets. And that is very important. Not all competitors can do that. We are very careful and conscientious, it allows us to have a certain level of quality. Today in Italy there are no other organizations organized like us, the support we give to agents is important, especially in the legal, marketing, technical-bureaucratic, photographic part. Sometimes we are considered a bit too expensive, but in fact we are not. I want to emphasize: in some regions, like Desenzano del Garda for example, this is done on purpose because we work with a certain type of clients and properties; whereas inRome, Bologna, Florence this is not the case. On the contrary, we are trying to reach out to the mid to mid-high market, not necessarily the highest market, in order to increase the number of transactions and bring the same quality to this market. Those are some of the changes we're making. We are aligned with others on cost."

Deiana: "A very important aspect is also the cooperation within our market centers between agents. We create real connections between agents: property information and service can be freely transferred between all agents, together with our technological and digital services. We are trying to speed up the process. One of our goals is to reduce the average selling time, to be always fast and responsive. Our ambition and desire is also to redefine the cost standards of real estate intermediation services, keeping rates and prices in line with the market. We can do this thanks to the sustainability of our market center network with centralized services, which allows us to be always sustainable and efficient, investing more in the business and less in the structure."

In conclusion, what does the future hold for real estate professionals?

Dejana: "I have twenty-five years of experience in this industry, and I can say that a lot has changed during this time. What remains unchanged is the trust placed in the interlocutor. Relationships are very important. Of course, the approach, initial methodology, ways of communicating with clients, ways of meeting them, and ways of being more visible have changed. The topic of technology is very important. Currently, the company invests a lot in digital and technological development, in information analysis and management, and in statistical data analysis. Today, all of this is the foundation of our work; otherwise, we wouldn't be able to be effective and productive in offering services to our intermediary agents at the B2B level and to our clients at the B2C level."

Aguzzi: "I come from the financial sector, and I have a big dream for our agents to become consultants. I've seen amazing things in other countries, such as aerial photography of buildings, floor plans using Google Maps, and determining prices based on transactions that occurred in similar nearby buildings. Real estate valuation is always complex. For an agent, it's an important test, and it's not easy. When we have something as sophisticated as artificial intelligence, with data and companies like Google, I believe the profession will change again. And