2020 began well, deals started in 2019 were being prepared, new applications were being received, viewings were almost always accumulated at the end of the week, we were preparing for the spring, when market activity was traditionally increasing.
On February 23, the first bell rang in Codogno, close to Milan, and coronavirus became number 1 news in Italy.
We still worked in a usual way until March 6th. Then the number of online requests decreased and all visits were canceled, up to a complete lockdown of Italy, which is a force majeure event.
Currently, real estate agencies and construction companies are quarantined until May 3.
What are we doing now:
All transactions that were planned for the period March - April - May are postponed to June and July. We are preparing explanations to our foreign clients on how to issue a power of attorney to sign a notarial deed. As an exception, notaries were allowed to give employees of the notary's office as proxies for sellers and buyers, so that the parties could complete the initiated transactions.
-
The viewings of the properties are not permitted.
-
We cannot also prepare virtual tours, since for this we need to leave home, which is prohibited.
-
We respond to current requests by e-mail.
-
The rental market for villas on Lake Como reacts as follows: the owners allow those already booked for season 2020 to transfer their reservations to next year, and rental requests for the summer months are received from Milanese and residents of Lombardy.
And what about Lake Como with a coronavirus.
Lake Como affected less than other parts of Lombardy. In the province of Como today about 2500 positive cases. In the city of Tremezzina - 40, in the Bellagio - 30, many villages are fortunately not affected. The mayor of Tremezzina every day informs about the situation via Facebook.
When do you think market activity will begin?
It depends primarily on how the virus behaves, whether it becomes less aggressive with the beginning of summer, how quickly the vaccine is found, and the terms by which the borders of other countries in Europe will be closed, because our customers are mainly from there. Safety first.
Will the general economic situation in the world affect buyer activity?
At the moment, everyone is waiting. In September 2020, we will be able to say more, depending on the activity of buyers, how the situation will develop.
Will real estate prices go down on Lake Como?
Lake Como is a real estate market for second homes. This means that buyers who appeared on the market were not the segment of buyers most affected by the crisis (young families in need of credit or low-paid employees who would quickly lose their jobs)
Our clients are wealthy people (entrepreneurs, highly paid specialists, doctors, managers of multinational companies, etc.) who have high incomes and invest in real estate around the world.
The transaction cycles have always been long, since this is a vacation property, people first come and explore the area, then they come again to conduct a search thoughtfully, and then they proceed directly to the selection of an object and negotiations.
Real estate investments in places like Como - in the long run - are less affected by financial crises and continue to be attractive to investors.
The truth is that in recent years there has been a fall in prices for certain real estate, but this mainly concerned property with poorer characteristics (not enough high-quality finishing materials, not enough view of the lake).
All objects with exceptional characteristics continued to grow in price or keep their price.
The price will be reduced only by those who urgently need cash, the rest will keep prices at the same level.
What do we need to prepare for? - for sellers
Moreover, the sale period, which on Lake Como averaged 8-12 months for objects of the middle price category, can double.
I will be happy to answer your questions, text/whatsapp +393664476630.
Stay safe, Hanna
