Abruzzo, one of the best places in the world to retire.
Retiring abroad isn’t for everyone —but more and more people are doing it. The growing interest in overseas living isn’t all that surprising. And for the second year running Abruzzo Rural Property has participated in the annual conference Retire and Invest Overseas held by Live and Invest Overseas, the world’s most experienced and trusted source of information on living, retiring and investing overseas. Their website, printed material and conferences provide valuable sources of information on real estate properties overseas. Established in 2008, the Live and Invest Overseas’ editors and correspondents have experience researching and reporting on opportunities for living well, investing for profit and owning real estate around the world.
Since 2013 the Abruzzo region has been listed by Live and Invest Overseas as one of the best places in the world to retire. The classification has been provided with consideration to many different factors such as climate, cost of living, health care system, house prices, crime rates, taxes, residency, gastronomy and wines, the beauty of the surrounding landscape, etc…
This year, in September, the annual conference was held in Las Vegas (USA) at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. There were over 40 exhibitors, presenting investment opportunities from all over the world, also International real estate agencies representing the countries with the best retirement opportunities. Our real estate agency Abruzzo Rural Property was the only representative of Abruzzo and therefore Italy, because Abruzzo was the only Italian region participating in the conference. Last year, the Orlando conference held at the Hotel Hilton Buena Vista, also the Camera di Commercio Estero of Pescara (Chamber of Commerce) attended the event to represent Italy from a touristic point of view. The Abruzzo property market was represented and a presentation delivered to the conference participants by Monia Di Guilmi, director of Abruzzo Rural Property.
Monia highlighted:
“Abruzzo region is now internationally established as one of the best places in the world to retire due to the excellent lifestyle conditions the region has to offer. Thanks to the beautiful and diverse landscape, nowhere else in Europe can boast to having ski resorts at just seventy five minutes drive from the coast. Other enticing considerations are the low property prices and the very affordable cost of living.”
Also in 2018, Abruzzo has been advertised by well-known international press such as BBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, etc… This is another factor that has helped to increase the popularity and awareness of the region.
Excitingly on the 17, 18, 19th October 2018, Live and Invest Overseas held their first ever conference in Abruzzo at the Esplanade Hotel in Pescara. More than 60 American potential investors attended this conference. The conference covered all aspects of purchasing a property in Italy: legal matters, technical matters, tips to avoid, pit falls, advice on taxes and money transfers and also provide property offers.
Abruzzo Rural Property attended the three day conference and also organized a two day tour to follow for the participants to explore parts of the region and view some of the properties available on the market. The tour covered parts of the Chieti province, the Trabocchi coast, the lake of Bomba, the medieval town of Vasto and surrounding area, and also part of the neighbouring Molise region. The tour aimed to provide a brief overview of the areas from a touristic point of view and also be an introduction to the various real estate opportunities the region has to offer.
The great opportunities and lifestyle that Abruzzo offers has been discovered and reflected over the years by seeing a gradual increase in investments. This year it has reached a peak by achieving the highest number of sales by foreign investors including a high proportion of American buyers. Surprisingly, the British market has not seen a downturn as previously predicted as a result of Brexit. On the contrary, an increase of British buyers has been registered. UK buyers have been “hurried” into buying before Brexit actually taking place, unsure of its unpredictable consequences.
The notarial public registry of Chieti province has registered an increase of 18% in sales in the area in 2018, taking into consideration both Italian and foreign buyers. This dynamic and prosperous situation registered by the Abruzzo real estate market in 2018 adds security in foreseeing a more stable market and eventually an increase in property prices. These two factors: a stable property market and the realistic increase in property prices will mean that Abruzzo will be seen as a new serious investment opportunity region and not just as a retirement / lifestyle paradise. Hopefully in a few years current buyers will have the chance to sell at higher prices, at least in certain areas of the region.
The short-term rental market is evident proof of the increasing popularity of the Abruzzo region. The supply and demand for short term rentals had increased exponentially in the past few years. There are over 6 million tourists a year visiting the region, 14% foreigners, and many of them opt for self-catering rentals, especially international visitors. This provides extra value to owning a property in Abruzzo.
Abruzzo is officially the new Tuscany of Italy and the trend is only going to increase.