Properties are going fast in San Teodoro
On the Costa Smeralda, however, super villa stocks are running low and rentals are struggling to take off. But the arrival of the large luxury hotel chains will help maintain the prestigious image and international interest for the northern coastline of S
South does not beat north. Interest in second homes is at its highest to the south of Olbia. From detached villas to rediscovering the hills, not far from small towns. And this is where increasing numbers of entrepreneurs from northern Italy, as well as so-called digital nomads, are choosing to relocate their home away from home. “Here you can buy a villa for the same price as a 100-square metre apartment in Piccolo Pevero or Porto Cervo (€1.5-1.7 mil - lion) and rent it out with a gross annual income of 7-8 percent”, Francesco Budroni, from Maior Capital estate agents in Olbia, tells Ville&Casali. His company, which he founded in 2019, now boasts a turnover sufficiently high to rank it as one of Italy’s 50 leading independent agents. “We have no competitors when it comes to newbuilds in Gallura”, he confidently claims. “To the south of Olbia, in areas such as Porto San Paolo, San Teodoro and Budoni, we were unable to meet many of our clients’ needs with the stocks available at the time, so we decided to build detached villas with a home energy rating of A boasting at least 4-6 bedrooms, swimming pool, solar panels and garage. Building has already commenced on two of them, with the third currently in the pipeline. Prices are competitive, at less than €5,000 per square metre”. San Teodoro is awash with properties ripe for redevelopment. “No new developments have been approved. In Capo Coda Cavallo, for example, there is a 300-square metre, 1970s property set in 4,000 square metres of parkland in the second row back from the sea, with garage. It is on the market for €1 million but would cost €3 million if redeveloped”, Budroni concludes. For Paolo Costi, owner of the estate agents of the same name that specialises in the luxury market, “there is a lack of newbuilds. If the tourist port were completed, prices in San Teodoro would go up considerably, even more so if new cycle paths were also created. But the quality of medium-to high-end properties is increasing. We sold a brand new 200-square metre villa in one of the few developments of Citai, San Teodoro’s most prestigious hilly postcode, for €750,000. Prices there range from €2,500-€4,000 per square metre”, he explains. He then mentions Puntaldia (a hamlet of San Teodoro), which he calls the ‘little Porto Rotondo’, the focal point of which is the small square that is much loved by VIPs. An exclusive, intimate setting. “Where you can leave the car in the car park and find everything you need: two restaurants, a pharmacy, a doctor and lots more besides,” explains Ivano Fodde, owner of Puntaldia Servizi, a company that specialises in rentals, sales and renovations, as well as excursions and catering. “When you buy a house from us, you will find your fridge fully stocked or your rental car ready and waiting at the airport”. The property expert tells us that many of his potential clients are coming from Porto Cervo, because they find Puntaldia to be more family-oriented and quiet. “Throughout the district, apartments dating back to the 1980s are all in need of modernisation; they tend to vary in size from 70 to 120 square metres and range from €7,000 to €10,000 per square metre.” Lisa Zanella and Martina Mora, owners of Your Personal Sardinia, are increasingly focussed on the luxury buyer and rental markets. “We manage luxury properties all year round, from maintenance to rental, as well as offering a modernisation service with our selected interior designers”, Lisa explains.
And what is the property market like in Porto Cervo? “Buyers continue to come both from Italy and overseas, with a significant increase in interest from Switzerland and France”, replies Susanna Murru, provincial president of Sardinia’s central northern branch of the Italian Federation of Professional Estate Agents (FIAIP). “Detached villas as close to the sea as possible continue to be the most sought-after properties, but there is still good demand for country houses on large plots, whether turnkey or in need of renovation. Prices have remained stable, whether on the coast or near the ports and airports. However, the area has seen a notable increase in the sale/acquisition of large hotels by private individuals or investment funds”. According to Martina Mora from Emerald Key Real Estate, “Seafront villas costing anywhere from €10 million to €100 million are in extremely high demand. And potential buyers prefer them to be furnished in a contemporary rather than a traditional Costa Smeralda style.” However, this type of villa is in very short supply. “Many houses on the luxury property market are ugly or poorly-maintained, and are often dirty or messy”, explains Carlo Panciroli, an experienced Costa Smeralda estate agent, “and the same is also true of the rental market. Yet properties need to be presented like a luxury yacht and adapted to meet the needs of the client.” Panciroli then refers to the ‘nouveau riche’ looking to buy super villas: “Interest from the Czech Republic and Slovakia is starting to emerge, but there is no shortage of prospective clients from the USA and Argentina”. So is the rental market stagnating? It is according to Lorenzo Tanda, from the estate agents of the same name, who is also well established in the region. “Aside from high prices, the owners of these properties are unwilling to rent them out for less than a month, forgetting that the market has changed. The Russians who even used to rent in July have gone”. Finally, to the north-east of Olbia, Luciano Magi from Idee residenziali maintains his market niche with the construction of new and targeted second homes in charming communities. In summer 2025, he will bring to the market six villas in Santa Teresa Gallura. Each offering between 100 and 150 square metres of floor space and a home energy rating of A, they also benefit from sea views and a modern finish, while still respecting Gallurian tradition. They are set to cost around €4,000 per square metre. Magi does not rule out one day turning his professional attention to the Gulf of Orosei, home to Cala Mariolu, ranked number two on the 2024 list of The World's 50 Best Beaches. Just half an hour from here – but we are already in Barbagia – is the Su Golugone experience hotel, where Madonna and Richard Gere stayed many years ago.