The luxury market isn’t affected by financial crises, therefore, and this is a guarantee in the short and long-term. Who is buying in Sirmione? “Germans, Austrians, Belgians, British and Russians”, Travagliati concludes, “given that there are also daily low-cost flights between Verona and Moscow. If I had to buy a house around here myself, I would base my choice on logistics and there are opportunities here: from Verona to Garda is just twenty minutes by car, don’t forget there is the A4 motorway between Milan and Venice, and we are exactly halfway, with Venice Marco Polo and Milan Linate airports, also the fast trains, even direct, from Desenzano to Rome, high speed even as far as Naples”. Lake view, but also green construction, in line with the principals of environmental sustainability, that is to say which reduce negative impact on the environment. Therefore, sources of renewable energy, energy classes, solar panels, smart boilers, and home automation. A futuristic vision that also looks favourably on anti-seismic certification. “Bio-construction is increasingly taking hold on Lake Garda”, Daniela Plodari confirms, owner of Immobildomus a company that handles sales and leasing of desirable properties. “Today there is much more attention paid to high-performance sustainable building practices that offer economy, utility, durability and comfort, even by Italians”, Plodari continues, “and a design that also takes the anti-seismic aspect into account, given the earthquakes that struck Salò and Valle Sabbia in 2004. Germans, Austrians, Italians and Russians are buying property here. I’ve even sold apartments to people from Sarajevo, India, Brazil, some French and Americans. The latter still aren’t very familiar with Lake Garda, whereas many Germans, on the other hand, refer to it as their “bathtub”, their “little sea”. People from Munich, especially, love this lake, which also offers golf courses, a cycle path starting from Limone and the thousands of available activities. Apartments but, as the owner of Immobildomus assures us, also villas are being sought by Italians and Germans: “they want modern villas with a lake view and energy efficiency classes. How much can this cost? A lakeside property in at Via Michelangelo and Via Grotto in Desenzano is around five to six thousand euros per square metre, that’s in the upper town near the station with a lake view, whereas the upper part of the lake front in Desenzano ranges from three to six thousand euros per square metre”.

For Gabriella Geminian of Grei Immobiliare, who only deal with luxury sales - home automation, energy efficiency and sought after refinements are also instrumental in ensuring that prices hold in the long term, as well as new builds. “There are so many older properties available”, she explains, “and to get a deal, I advise buying one of these and investing in a renovation, or rather to demolish it and rebuild, which costs less than a classic renovation. Perhaps you could buy a house in Padenghe sul Garda with planning approval for demolition and construction. You can buy an old villa of 300 square metres, for example, plus a swimming pool for 1.7 million euros, with potential for renovation and planning approval, and if you spend 1.5 million on a rebuild from scratch, you can get something that would sell for 4.5 million on the market. Who is buying in Padenghe? Mostly Italians, many industrialists looking for a second home, Gabriella Geminian assures us, whereas in this municipality “the are fewer and fewer Germans, who are selling their villas in the Villaggio Dante Alighieri in Padenghe. This is a sort of German consortium resulting from a subdivision about thirty years ago with approximately seventy villas costing from 700 thousand euros (in need of renovation) to 2 million euros (new), many of which are currently up for sale”. This is the time to invest in Lake Garda, according to Clarissa Monachesi of “Residenze del Lago Immobiliare” , who only handle the buying and selling of property, “as prices have already been increasing by approximately 5% every twelve months for the last two years. And then there is an excellent quality of life here, no chaos, anything we could need, a beautiful climate, cooler in the summer and not so cold in the winter, a lot of activities to do, train stations, lively throughout the year”. Monachesi also believes the best investments are to be made in Sirmione; better if it is a new build, modern and with home automation. “The Sirmione peninsula is the most expensive, a property here costs between 6-9 thousand euro per square metre. A two bedroom property of seventy square metres can cost 4-500 thousand euros. And it will sell immediately. The other more expensive areas, where properties values will hold, are in the Brescia area; Salò, Gardone Riviera, Garda: the most impressive villas, costing from ten to twenty million euros are almost all here. This lake offers locations you can only dream of, in addition to Sirmione, Salò, Peschiera, Bardolino, Lazise, Limone, among the most popular areas with tourists. There is no shortage of charming, highly desirable locations such as Isola del Garda, for example: you can spend 18 thousand euros on a castle to organise an event. Luxury, therefore, but also a high quality of life. “Our lake is much more liveable than Lake Como”, the estate agent concludes, “you can get to anywhere from here within two hours, its also better than Milan. We sell something for all tastes, for 400 thousand euros upwards. Penthouses cost upwards of one and a half million euros”.