While the real estate market in Milan is thriving, buyers of luxury homes are increasingly turning their attention to Rome in search of better deals.

With Brexit, bankers are leaving London and moving to other European cities, leading to a boom in the luxury real estate market inMilan.

However, buyers looking for cheaper real estate properties (and less competition) are starting to pay attention to another Italian metropolis.

Romeis quickly becoming a favorite among homeowners looking to make a bargain purchase in the wake of the pandemic.

The Eternal City has shown good recovery momentum since the restrictions were lifted, according to Bloomberg, with premium residential real estate sales up 31.4 percent from 2020, the highest since 2007.

Milan, meanwhile, despite being Italy's fastest-growing financial center, only increased sales by 24.4 percent in the same period.

The capital city can thank its attractive character and relatively low prices for attracting homebuyers to the city.

In popular Roman neighborhoods such as Trastevere or Garbatella, the average price of a luxury home is $6,500 (about 6,000 euros) for nearly 11 square feet (one square meter) - half the cost of similar properties in Milan.

And it seems this compelling combination is yielding results: one in three potential Italian premium real estate buyers looking for active offers online are looking for properties inRome, according to a report from Immobiliare.it, a popular real estate website in Italy, and LuxuryEstate.com.

At the same time, Rome is going through a series of watershed changes, preparing for the rapid development that will attract visitors and shoppers to the city.

The Eternal City will host the much-anticipated Ryder Cap in 2023 (the first time this golf tournament will be held in Italy); there are plans to celebrate the Roman Catholic Jubilee Summer in 2025, as well as the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in 2033; and Rome is also a candidate to host the World Expo in 2030.

All these events make the capital very attractive for investors, who bet on luxury hotel brands, such as Four Seasons, and on real estate companies, which are actively acquiring unfinished objects in good locations of the city.

However, buying real estate in Rome can involve some hurdles, as it requires a complex process of correctly identifying the building and its history, which is a legal requirement when buying real estate.

In addition, the high amount of car traffic and lack of public transportation may deter some buyers, although the national government plans to improve rail service, develop metro lines and pay special attention to urban renewal as part of its ambitious National Recovery and Sustainability Plan.

Despite these drawbacks, more and more wealthy Italians are investing in larger homes in the post-pandemic period.

“The mood has changed, luxury hospitality is coming massively, there is plenty of liquidity for prestigious residences and plenty of opportunities to regenerate areas close to the center to create high quality offices, student and senior housing,” Domenico Bilotta, chief executive of InvestiRE SGR, told Bloomberg.