ABSTRACT
At a national level the privately owned housing in Italy accounted for 75.5 % of the total stock in 1993, and it further increased by some 0.5 % by 1996. The tendency of privately owned housing to grow continues the return of real investment in housing after a period of preference for the commercial real estate market. In the course of the 1980s and 1990s there have been significant demographic changes in Italy. These have had an impact on the demand for housing and have contributed to the relationship between cities of different sizes and their hinterlands. The effects of the economic depression are evident in the trends in retail property prices in the five large cities in Italy. There was a relatively homogeneous tendency between the cities in the period preceding 1983 and a situation very different according to the cities. The chapter shows the great differences in market values of housing units in the 13 largest Italian cities.
