Davide Dimartina, owner of the agency Embrace Sicily, confirms this trend. “After the historic old town, the countryside is also highly coveted by investors from Noto and further afield”, he explains to Ville&Casali. Especially for second homes with the option to build a swimming pool, agricultural land with a buildability index that has remained at 100 square metres per hectare since 1990 is particularly in demand. There has been talk about revising the urban General Plan (PRG) for at least 4 years now, but this is how things are at the moment. And then there is the coast, the seaside resorts like Lido di Noto, where buildings dating back to the 1960s are ubiquitous. These are often quite modest properties that may be of interest to locals but not to overseas investors”. According to Angelo Spicuglia, owner of Noto’s Mondialcasa agency, the historic old town has lost some of its former appeal. “Because COVID has reawakened people’s desire for open spaces, foreign investors are primarily targeting the countryside and the coast. Having said that, Baroque houses in the historic old town that benefit from a panoramic terrace or patio have all been sold. The French have bought almost the entire housing stock over the past few years. After the city’s investment boom that lasted until 2016, the only available remaining stock consists of small apartments with a single balcony at most. Properties in need of renovation are still a bargain, being sold for as low as €500 per square metre.” In contrast, the agency Perez & Smith specialises in versatile city properties like boutique hotels, the new frontier for Italian investors in particular. Fabio Perez is enthusiastic about this demand for hotels, arguing that, “this is a sign that Noto is growing, not that it ever stopped”. If we shed the spotlight on the Province of Ragusa and the city and municipality of Modica in particular, an analysis conducted by Ramsay Gilderdale from the agency Modicasa found that the vast majority of investors are looking for houses in the countryside with a sea view. A good deal can be done at €300 per square metre for large properties that require extensive restoration, often in Quartarella or Frigintini. For those who want to conduct business in Noto, the countryside is also proving to be a winner. This is according to Corrado Morano from the estate agents Oikos, who explains how interest has also grown for villas ripe for conversion into holiday homes. The Modica-based estate agents Prima Classe Immobiliare are targeting a different market. Girolamo Giannone has seen a surge in demand for Noto’s historic old town, particularly for small properties with planning approval to create a roof terrace. Prices for such properties range from €800 to €1,100 per square metre.
Published on Ville&Casali June 2021
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