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It seems that buying and restoring farmhouses and country houses is back in vogue in the Le Marche property market this summer. I must admit that I thought UK buyers had deserted this particular sector in favour of apartments and village houses, but the market seems to be changing very quickly in their favour.

In the first four or five months of 2008 most of the enquiries from clients and the subsequent viewings were mainly for village houses in the southern part of Le Marche. However since the middle of May I have received many more enquires about farmhouses with or without land, but only a relatively small number of enquiries for townhouses.

I believe the Italian property market is definitely slowing down, which is really not surprising given the credit crunch, strong Euro and economic problems in the US and increasingly in the UK. But I have found that enquiries have not decreased by the amount that I had thought might happen earlier on this year. I still see a strong demand for property in Le Marche from UK clients, but I also have clients visiting from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Holland, Norway, Ireland and a few Italians from northern Italy. Many potential purchasers especially from the UK are now looking to change the direction of their life completely and want to sell up in the UK and move to Italy permanently, some to retire and others to buy properties suitable for holiday lettings and bed and breakfast.  Read more...