The Cortina effect is being felt in the municipalities of Cadore

Mountain

The Cortina effect is being felt in the municipalities of Cadore

While the cost of a high-end refurbishment in the queen of the VILLE&CASALI 161 Dolomites might set you back close to 16,000 per square metre, on its doorstep prices are much more affordable

The property market ofCortina and the surrounding area has never been so active or buoyant. The pearl of the Dolomites is a hive of activity, with the ongoing and imminent construction of new commercial enterprises and luxury hotels, not to mention the renovation and conversion of dozens of apartments, barns and the odd 1970s villa. But the real boost to the tourist property market of Cortina and the upper part of the province of Belluno will come from the new road network, the financing of which has already been allocated for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The new project, approved by the local authorities, will see the construction of a five-kilometre ring road, four of which will run underground for more than 70% of the distance. It is expected to cost €116 million and take four years to build. It will allow lorry drivers and holidaymakers to bypass Cortina d'Ampezzo, preventing tailbacks at peak times and weekends. "At the moment, confirms Giuliano Dal Magro, President of the Belluno Italian Federation of Professional Estate Agents (FIAIP), traffic has to drive through the middle of San Vito di Cadore to reach the Dolomites, but by diverting the traffic, the ring road would increase the value of second homes in Tai, Borca and San Vito di Cadore." He goes on to explain when this will happen and by how much."In San Vito, which is about 12 km from Cortina and which has seen a lot of construction over the last twenty years, apartments measuring around 70 square metres in small, two-storey blocks have recently been renovated and are being sold for €280,000-€300,000. Prices that are set to remain fairly stable until 2024, before jumping by 10-15 percent by 2026.” According to the expert from FIAIP, in Borca di Cadore, 15 km from Cortina, the same 70-square metre property would cost even less, around €200,000. In short, high-end renovated properties in San Vito cost from €4,000 to €4,500 per square metre, while in Borca they cost around €2,500 per square metre, almost half as much. "San Vito and Borca di Cadore have always been great options for a second home to rival Cortina, situated as they are at the foot of the Cinque Torri rock formation,” concludes Mr Dal Magro. In truth, the 2026 Winter Olympics are already starting to have an impact on the prices of holiday homes. For example, in Vodo di Cadore, situated 18 km from Cortina, a new complex of five ‘green’ dwellings next to the Al Capriolo restaurant sold for €3,000 per square metre, in an area where prices did not used to exceed €1,800 per square metre.

According to Susy Belli, owner of the estate agents Cortinese, in Cortina the price of a newbuild or a renovated property “has already risen to 16,000-€17,000 per square metre, because a heap of money for the Winter Olympics has been allocated to the town that will be used to resolve infrastructure problems like roads, sewers and plants, and put towards a long-term strategy.” That is why, according to Giovanni Valle from Menardi estate agents, "it is still a good investment to buy something beautiful in Cortina in a good location and at a premium price, because prices are certain to rise with the 2026 Winter Olympics just around the corner." The agent Mara Giacomini, for example, believes that in view of the Olympic Games in 2026 prices could increase by 30 per cent. We may not have yet reached the €33,000 per square metre achieved in Gstaad in Switzerland, "but we have the most beautiful mountains in the world and a climate poles apart from the Swiss climate, where the cold is more biting and the sun is often not seen for days," explains Marino Piccolotto from Abitare Cortina.

It is no coincidence that one of his VIP showbiz clients who spends her winters in Cortina is looking to sell her home in Switzerland to buy the holiday home of her dreams here. Mr Piccolotto also explains that in Cortina, as in other rural mountain towns in Italy, the pandemic has left its mark. “In May 2020, we feared that the industry would grind to a halt, yet the virus actually created a great opportunity as the Venetians escaped to our mountains.” In short, COVID-19 and the upcoming Winter Olympics have breathed new life into the Valle di Cadore property market.

Alex Ghedina, from PuntocasaCortina, says that a villa between Cianderies and Pecol, in an extremely popular and sunny location, was recently sold at auction to a Venetian industrialist for about €20,000 per square metre, “because such properties are a rarity on the market and are highly sought-after.” The property in question was a 300-square metre villa with garage in need of refurbishment, requiring at least a further €1,500 per square metre to finish it. "An old and listed traditional Ampezzo house measuring 1,200 square metres in total split over multiple floors, examples of which also rarely come to market, sold for €10,000 euros per square metre, but at least a further €3,500 per square metre will need to be spent on the refurbishment. It stands to reason that anyone who cannot buy around here due to the lack of housing stock is drawn towards San Vito di Cadore.” Most of Marino Piccolotto’s clients dream of owning a chalet not too far from the centre, in Cianderies, Pecol, via Faloria or Crignes. He is currently acting as intermediary for 12 housing units with garden, finished to a high standard, as part of the chalet Tofane renovation project, just a few minutes’ walk from the heart of Cortina, close to the ‘Freccia nel cielo’ (‘Arrow in the sky’) cable car and ‘palestra dell'arrampicata’ (‘climbing gym’). Scheduled to be completed in April 2022, they will cost between €15,000 and €17,000 per square metre. Antoitalia, a property development company that also operates in the hotel industry, is overseeing, through its local office opened in 2019, a project in Riva, a residential area that looks out over the Tofane mountain group, Cinque Torri and the Croda da lago mountain chain. "Two barns are being converted into luxury 140-180-square metre apartments to be completed by 2024-2025,” explains Leonardo Tonello, manager of Antoitalia Cortina. “They will be sold for around €16,000-€18,000 per square metre.” There are currently a number of barns (listed and with high maintenance costs) ripe for renovation. According to architect Ambra Piccin, who is responsible for designing three of these, “There are at least forty on the market. Ampezzo families, partly due to generational change, have finally decided to team up with investors and open themselves up to this opportunity.” The projects of the renowned local designer are nothing short of futuristic. The renovation of a barn in Peziè, close to the Miramonti Majestic Grand Hotel, will create 12 apartments measuring between 80 and 120 square metres by 2024. Mrs Piccin has even designed a garage with heated ramp, cladding in old beams (crojéres), anthracite ceilings and LED strip lighting to mark the communal areas, as well as a lift to the different floors. Finally, next to the garage will be a tavern or a spa. “Four buyers actually asked me to create a wellness area instead of the tavern, with sauna and Turkish bath,” the architect concludes, who uses the very bright local Dolomite stone as much as she can. Here, prices are already close to €20,000 per square metre for penthouses.