Tuscany

BUY A PROPERTY in TUSCANY!

Do you want to invest in Tuscany by buying a property? purchase a traditional stone farm house, a small townhouse in a medieval village? a villa by the sea?, a wine estate in Chianti or near Montalcino? a Bed&Breakfast or a country hotel already open for business? a historical luxury villa? Browse through the categories mentioned and you’ll find interesting proposals.

It seems that all the foreigners who visit Tuscany wish to buy a house or even a villa, a Wine Estate or an agritourism, in the alluring countryside full of vineyards, olive groves and cypress avenues. But for many that wish remains a dream, not also because until a few years ago there were hardly any properties for sale, and those that were available at extremely high prices.

Up until the end of the 1970’s there was a large number of stone farm houses available, used and lived in by farmers and labourers, who had abandoned both the farms and the surrounding countryside, after the second world war; an architectural patrimony of priceless beauty and value, in complete ruins that was sold for a few thousand euros to the many ‘followers’ of Tuscany, who, attracted by the  opportunities available, arrived from all over the world, above all from the UK,  Germany and  the USA, to purchase and then tastefully renovate and passionately restore the houses and cellars and revive the production in the vineyards and olive groves; so much so that Chianti, the area between Siena and Florence where the wine of the same name is produced, was renamed Chianti Shire by the media. A phenomenon that has produced various artistic testimonies, film and literature, including the famous novel ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ written by the American writer Frances Mayes where the author, renovating her house in the countryside near Cortona,  writes of her adventures in Tuscany.

This flow of fresh capital certainly restarted the Tuscan agriculture and generated a tremendous economy based on tourism which has allowed Tuscany today to live a second Renaissance.

The recent crisis has seen the cards reshuffled, and many properties on the market, including luxury properties such as Villas and Wine Estates, some of which are large and  important producers, in difficulty with the banks and on the point of bankruptcy. In the past two or three years such properties are quickly passing into the hands of the newly wealthy from emerging countries such as Russia, China, Australia, Brazil and South Africa. These huge investments,  sometimes several millions of euros, being made by banks and foreign companies, are recuperable over the long term because of the export of wine and tourism.  These investments are safe, because they have been made in Tuscany, and can be sold at any time repaying the value invested.

There are many interesting opportunities on the market today at affordable prices for smaller investors and private individuals, for example, small houses located in picturesque hilltop medieval towns, portions of traditional stone farm houses or small agricultural estates, located in areas less visited and well known but by no means less attractive.

However, even if in recent years in Tuscany, the property market has fallen by 30%, 40% it has suffered less than in other places,  the prices of the most wanted properties in the country are not low and not available to all; prices range from 2,000 / 3.000 euros per square metre for properties where renovation is needed, to almost double that if renovation is not required. It has to be remembered too that the renovation works, regimented by strict laws, with the aim of preserving the historical architectural characteristics of the buildings, take considerable time and at the end cost more than the price paid for the property.

In spite of this, Tuscany, because of the history, artistic patrimony, beautiful scenery, ancient traditions, wine, food and ultimately thanks to the fantastic Harmony between Man and Nature that has been found here, it remains one of the few regions on earth where whoever visits would love to live and buy a house.