Property investor Carlyle has switched its focus in Italy towards Rome and Milan following a fall in prices, said Roberto Ardagna, Associate Director at Carlyle, said in an interview with PropertyEU at EXPO REAL in Munich. In the past, Carlyle’s acquisitions were primarily in residential properties in regional cities like Trieste and Florence.
Property investor Carlyle has switched its focus in Italy towards Rome and Milan following a fall in prices, said Roberto Ardagna, Associate Director at Carlyle, said in an interview with PropertyEU at EXPO REAL in Munich. In the past, Carlyle’s acquisitions were primarily in residential properties in regional cities like Trieste and Florence.
‘Rome and Milan were simply overpriced. But following the sharp price drops in over the last 18 months Rome and Milan are looking a lot more attractive,’Ardagna said. ‘In addition, most international investors are pulling out of Italy because of financial problems in their home countries. So what we’re seeing is not so much distressed sales as event-driven sales, especially in the retail and office markets.’
One big advantage in Rome and Milan, he added, is the scarcity of quality properties coming on the market, and the absence of any major pipeline of new projects. ‘This makes Italy a reasonably stable investment market. And even though we thought Rome and Milan were overpriced, they never reached the levels of London or Paris, so the price drop has not been as dramatic as in those cities. We feel there are still opportunities for investment that will give us the 20% return we target for our investors,’ Ardagna said.
