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Essentially, Emilia-Romagna’s people give the region its appeal: the cities they’ve built and the lifestyle they preserve in them, the high quality of food and other products they create, the hard work they do but also the work-life balance they fiercely protect. Emilia-Romagna has one of Italy’s lowest crime rates and lowest rates of unemployment. The people here are an extremely reliable, sophisticated and peaceable bunch.
The region’s economy is dominated by agriculture and by small- to medium-scale businesses producing high-quality items. Big, faceless corporations (funnelling profits many miles away) go completely against the ethos of Emilia-Romagna. The region is at the centre of Italy’s sports-car and racing-car industry – with Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini all based here. Clearly, this is a region concerned with quietly churning out excellence, and preoccupied with the best things in life. High culture is an everyday leisure pursuit, with opera a particular passion and well-attended opera houses to be found in most cities. Emilia-Romagnans dress well and take a keen interest in gastronomy. To Market
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| As you might imagine, there are currently very few agents specialising in selling homes here to foreigners. Many agents listing properties all over Italy have only a few homes in Emilia-Romagna on their books, but the quantity has definitely risen between 2006 and 2008. The region’s reputation is beginning to spread, and it’s very likely that buyer interest will keep increasing. |
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Naturally, burgeoning foreign-buyer interest in Emilia-Romagna means that property prices are beginning to rise. But they haven’t gone up by very much yet and the region is still remarkably reasonably-priced. Graziella of Emilia Properties (too modest to give her surname) says “Prices in Emilia-Romagna have risen a bit over recent years, but they’re still extremely low compared to Tuscany.” She notes that Brits form the majority of foreign buyers here, but that other northern Europeans, as well as Americans and Australians, are starting to buy here too. Most foreign buyers are interested in the region’s hilly south, and in the old stone farmhouses here – either as restoration projects or bought ready-restored. Currently [in 2008], a large unrestored country home can cost as little as €45,000. You can get a fully-restored three-bedroom farmhouse with land, meanwhile, for about €170,000 – sometimes even less. It’s certainly cheaper than neighbouring Tuscany!
No Going Back
With its exceptionally high quality of life, Emilia-Romagna appeals to buyers seeking a full-time new life in Italy as well as those just interested in a holiday home. Graziella estimates that thirty to forty percent of Emilia Properties’ foreign buyers make a permanent move to their new property. Frank Ralph says he has noticed a definite increase in younger buyers with small children re-locating from Britain to Emilia-Romagna. “They put their kids through the local schools here,” he says. “The schools are generally better than in the UK, with much smaller class sizes. Emilia-Romagna is a fantastic region for re-locating. The work ethic and the health service are exemplary. If you need to see a specialist you can see one in two weeks, not two years. The food is better, and the cost of living is infinitely better.”
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Farmhouses, Country Homes
The majority of British buyers in Italy are seeking an old farmhouse out in the country, and many want a tumbledown one which they can restore to their own specifications. Emilia-Romagna is an excellent region for buyers seeking such properties, with plenty available and prices very reasonable. Prices are especially low when you consider that this is central Italy, the most highly-prized part of the country for British and other foreign buyers. In more famous adjacent regions such as Tuscany and Umbria, the prices of country homes can be double (or more) those in Emilia-Romagna. Even Le Marche, another central Italian region which has seen a fair bit of foreign buyer interest over the last decade due to its abundant farmhouses available at reasonable cost, is now often more expensive than Emilia-Romagna. Buyers of country homes should direct their attention to the peaceful, rural Apennine foothills which rise all along the southern edge of the region.
For between €45,000 and €140,000 [in 2008], there are abundant stone-built homes for sale in the open hill-country and small villages of Emilia-Romagna’s south – needing only minor work. Prices are at their lowest in the highest elevations of the Apennines, and rise as you move north toward the famous cities of the plain. For €95,000 to about €200,000, you can choose from lots of already-restored farmhouses and other country homes. (Again, the very lowest-priced are at the highest altitudes.)
Samples of fully-habitable properties currently advertised for sale include: a two-bedroom house with mountain views asking €90,000; a two-bed house in an Apennine skiing town for €150,000; and a four-bed village house for just €160,000. For €165,000 and above, you can also find some very large country properties needing restoration in Emilia-Romagna. Spending the same or more on restoration, you could create a very impressive home for yourself, or, with more expenditure, a hotel or B&B.
John Dillon of RealPoint Property notes that “Property in Emilia-Romagna offers unrivalled opportunities for anyone who loves doing up old houses. Many of the region’s farmhouses have barns and stables which can be converted into further living accommodation, for guests or rental income. You can purchase a property at a low price then renovate it to suit your own criteria. A stone barn would typically allow you to create a three-bedroom property.” As for the cost of restoring, John says you should estimate spending about €650 per square metre of floor-space in Emilia-Romagna. So, for a good-sized country home with a floor-space of 120 square metres, you might spend €80,000 on restoration work. With geometra fees at 12%, add €9,500, and building tax at 5%, add another €4,000.
Coast and Cities
While its abundant rural farmhouses are likely to be the properties that eventually fix Emilia-Romagna more firmly into the consciousness of British buyers, they are by no means the only highly desirable property-type on offer in the region. Anyone looking to make a sound investment as well as enjoying a second home in Italy should consider a property in one of Emilia-Romagna’s exquisite cities or on its coast, particularly as these are the places most likely to yield a reliable rental income. City apartments, in whatever Italian region, have been shown to hold their value especially well. People will always want to live in a city with abundant job prospects, and Emilia-Romagna is especially rich in these. People will also always want to visit a well-kept city full of attractive buildings and offering a great lifestyle. Again, Emilia-Romagna is rich in these. City-visitors trickle in throughout the year, with summer seeing the highest numbers. On the coast, meanwhile, the visitor season may be more short-lived, but the summer numbers are huge.
The ancient Adriatic town of Rimini is the most popular beach-resort in Europe. It manages, at the height of summer, to feel overwhelmingly exciting yet also pleasant, friendly and safe. Rimini and neighbouring resort-towns such as Riccione are excellent places to reap summer rental returns. A one-bedroom property here might ask €140,000, a two-bed €180,000 and a three-bed €210,000. You could rent your two-bed out for €700 or more a week. Inland cities such as Bologna, Parma and Modena, meanwhile, are also good places to secure rentals, as well as utterly charming places to spend your time. In Bologna, the largest city in Emilia-Romagna but still appealing small at just 400,000 inhabitants, apartments come in a very wide range of prices depending on size and location. Two-beds average about €200,000, with an average holiday rent of about €800 a week. Longer-term rentals can ultimately work out better in this city, however, as there are lots of students here as well as visiting international businesspeople based here for many months at a time.
Parma is one of a handful of Italian locales regularly cited as offering the country’s very highest quality of life. Whether or not it’s currently at the top of the list, it’s certainly a wonderful place to be – with an attractive, orderly centre, no traffic problems, and glorious food. Very few foreign buyers pay any attention to Parma, and one-bedroom centro storico apartments here can currently be had for less than €130,000. Two-beds in and around Parma ask between €125,000 and €250,000, with holiday rentals likely to be about €950 a week. Modena is another superb little city offering a highly civilised lifestyle. One-beds can go for around €100,000, and two-beds from €140,000 to €200,000. Holiday rental prospects are slightly lower in Modena than in more-famous Parma. This is also the case for elegant Ravenna and Ferrara. For a very high quality of urban life – but with not terribly strong holiday rental prospects – you should also consider small Emilia-Romagnan cities such as Piacenza and Reggio Emilia.
Wherever you buy a home for yourself in Emilia-Romagna, you’re almost certain to fall completely in love with this supremely liveable and high-achieving region. You’ll wonder why on earth you hadn’t heard more about it before. Surely its praises should be shouted from the rooftops!
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[All quoted prices accurate in 2008]
Bologna
The regional capital of Emilia-Romagna, beautiful Bologna is also the culinary capital of Italy – with many of the country’s very best restaurants. It has an attractive medieval centre built in striking red-brick, lots of pretty piazze and a couple of leaning towers. It’s also home to Europe’s oldest university, founded in 1088. Not overly large with fewer than 400,000 inhabitants, Bologna remains a lively, convivial city offering a very high quality of life. For property, it’s not as expensive as some reports suggest. One-bedroom apartments here start at just €60,000 – although you’d probably be better off going for something higher-priced and more centrally-located. Two-bed apartments range from about €145,000 to €270,000, and three-beds get going at about €200,000. Two-bed luxury apartments on Bologna’s most prestigious streets, meanwhile, can ask around €800,000. There’s plenty of employment in Bologna if you’re thinking of relocating. For holiday lets, a one-bed city centre flat should yield about €650 a week. But Bologna is especially good for longer-term rental – either to students or to the numerous international businesspeople sent here on medium-to-long-term contracts.
Other cities
For all its rural delights, Emilia-Romagna is home to particularly appealing cities. Small, orderly and affluent, they each offer great food, cultural sophistication and a very high quality of life. Parma’s 160,000 inhabitants are often said to enjoy the highest standard of living in all of Italy. Friendly and contented, they typically spend their leisure time on restaurants, shopping and opera – as do most of Emilia-Romagna’s other city-dwellers. Parma sees very few foreign buyers. One-bedroom centro storico apartments here can be had for less than €130,000. Most two-bedroom apartments in and around Parma ask between €125,000 and €250,000; most three-beds from €150,000 to €350,000. Holiday rentals on a two-bedroom property would be about €950 a week. Modena is another sleek, classy city to consider, with one-bedroom apartments available for around €100,000, and two-beds from €140,000 to €200,000. Elegant Ravenna, situated near the coast and famed for its Byzantine mosaics, is another strangely inexpensive place. Far inland, you should investigate Piacenza and Reggio Emilia, both peaceful and attractive places with a very welcoming local population. Two-beds in Piacenza range from €90,000 to €230,000, and three-beds from €115,000 to €250,000. Similar prices hold sway in Reggio Emilia.
The Apennine area
The long southern edge of Emilia-Romagna sees the rise of the Apennine mountains – their gentle wooded foothills slowly climbing to snow-clad, ski-able heights. Tiny towns and villages are scattered among the open fields and wide vistas, and the roads are good, so you never feel isolated up here. Crime levels in this hilly-to-mountainous swathe of Emilia-Romagna are officially Italy’s lowest, and the food on offer in the small local restaurants is rated extremely highly. Small but growing numbers of discerning British buyers have found their way to the area recently. It’s an excellent place to buy a farmhouse or country home. Prices are remarkably low, especially as Tuscany lies just across the border. You can snap up a tumbledown cottage for as little as €45,000, or a liveable three-bedroom house with land for €170,000. Prices are lowest at the highest altitudes – even when there’s a ski resort nearby. Many old agricultural properties come with stables, barns or other outbuildings which can be converted into rental accommodation for holidaymakers. Quite a few British buyers are choosing to relocate permanently to Emilia-Romagna’s Apennine area, for its high quality of life and significantly lower living costs.
The lowlands
The vast river valley of the mighty Po River carves a giant triangle across the landscape of northern Italy. Part of it encompasses the long northern edge of Emilia-Romagna. Spectacularly flat and fertile, the Po Valley is an intensively farmed area, with a damp sort of climate – humid summers, foggy autumns, rainy winters. Foreign buyers show very little interest in the wide rural spaces here. The agricultural businesses are all thriving, and there are few abandoned farmhouses for sale. The gem-like little city of Ferrara sits in this misty, low-lying landscape, and is an intensely atmospheric spot. It’s also one of the cheapest cities in Emilia-Romagna, with some astonishingly low property prices. More than one detached four-bedroom villa on the edge of town can be found asking less than €190,000. Between Ferrara and the coast, the land melts into peaceful marshes and lagoons, as the Po River splinters into meandering, reedy channels before meeting the sea. The area is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Properties here are not high-priced, and would make a very peaceful retreat.
The coast and Rimini
Apart from the more fragmented bits of coastline where the Po River empties into the Adriatic, Emilia-Romagna’s seaside is almost continuously developed – but very pleasantly so. Contented, family-friendly resort-towns on long sandy beaches are the norm, offering a wealth of summer fun and a genuinely happy atmosphere. Rimini is the queen of the beach-towns; in fact it’s the biggest resort in Europe – with more than 1,000 hotels, and 100,000 holidaymakers in the height of summer. Young nightclubbers, families with children, and elderly sun-seekers all flock here. But Rimini has more than a beach. There’s a charming centro storico with quiet piazzas and cobbled streets, plus some impressive Roman ruins including an amphitheatre and a mighty triumphal arch. Rimini is an excellent investment, with a more reliable holiday rental season than almost anywhere else in Emilia-Romagna. One-bedroom properties ask on average about €140,000, two-beds about €180,000 and three-beds about €210,000. You could rent out a two-bed for €700 a week. Out of town, the area round Rimini boasts some gorgeous villas – many in ultra-modern building styles and commanding luxury prices. Note that while Rimini is absolutely teeming in July and August, it shuts up shop and becomes a veritable ghost town in the winter
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Our Home in Emilia-Romagna
Bryan Emery and his wife Judith swapped their life in the West Midlands for a new life in the hills of Emilia-Romagna. They bought a large country B&B with land and a tumbledown barn, and moved there permanently in 2008. They offer courses in Italian cookery as well as holiday accommodation.
“We had been on lots of foreign holidays across Europe,” Bryan explains, “but never Italy – even though I’ve always loved history and wanted to see Rome one day.” Bryan’s son persuaded the couple to finally visit the country which would eventually become their new home. “Rather begrudgingly,” Bryan says, “we let him take us there on holiday. And we immediately fell in love with it. The people are beautiful. So welcoming and family-oriented. The scenery is out of this world – the vineyards and the olive groves. And the architecture is absolutely wonderful. After that first holiday we made many trips to different parts of the country – Tuscany, the Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Le Marche, Lazio. And every experience we had of Italy was 100% positive. We started to get in touch with estate agents whenever we visited, just to test the water on things like availability and prices…”
Why did Bryan and Judith end up buying a home in Emilia-Romagna? “A number of reasons,” Bryan says. “The area is absolutely outstanding, with dramatic scenery. We were there in mid-February and wearing t-shirts in the daytime, yet we could see the snow-capped mountains in the distance. We think Tuscany is becoming a bit too touristy. We didn’t want to be part of an English ex-pat community. We wanted to move to Italy to become Italians, not to become English people in Italy. We love the locals; they make such an effort, even if you don’t speak much Italian. They’re always coming over to talk to you.
“We bought from RealPoint Property, who were very helpful. The house is a three-storey building with three apartments. And there’s also an old barn – allegedly the oldest barn in the village, at 400 years old. We’ll renovate it, keeping the old pillars, the vaulted arches and the high wooden beams. The downstairs we’ll turn into en suite bedrooms, while the upstairs will be a large kitchen and dining area where we plan to teach Italian cooking. We’ll also take guests to local markets, cheese factories and winemakers.”
And what do the couple most enjoy about living in their new home? “Living an Italian way of life,” Bryan says immediately. “We love how the Italians live, their relaxed attitude to life, the fact that nothing is so essential that you haven’t got time to stop and talk to your neighbours.”
