Living There
Calabria is a sunny and increasingly popular area on the toe of Southern Italy. With sunshine through most of the year and around 435 miles of lovely coast, it is well-known as a fantastic holiday resort among Italians who want to spend a seaside holiday within their home country. Over recent years, an increasing number of foreigners have started to discover the secret and this has turned Calabria into an interesting emerging market for property investment.
While the area has long been an established tourist destination for domestic visitors, Italian tourists alone have not fuelled any property opportunities to rival the more internationally-known destinations. Now that foreigners are starting to get in on the act and Calabria is fast becoming such a destination, the market for property for sale in Calabria is growing significantly stronger and more attractive. Right now, while its international profile is still growing, the region has the added attraction that comes from the status of an emerging market, with properties experiencing significant capital growth as a result of increasing demand.
The fact that tourists are increasingly flocking into Calabria is down to little more than increased awareness. It is easy to see why, once international travellers have heard of the area, they find it an attractive destination. The long and picturesque coastline borders onto the wonderful Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Inland, Calabria is a scenic vista of mountains and historical sites. Star attractions include the beautiful Pollino National Park and the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is Cosenza Cathedral.
As the number of international visitors to the region has increased, airlines have begun offering greater numbers of flights leading to Calabria from around the world. Infrastructure has also improved on the back of the growing tourist trade, and these developments have fed back into helping the tourist trade to grow all the faster. With greater quality infrastructure and easier accessibility, Calabria has become more attractive than ever to tourists, who have been presented with more numerous and more flexible options for travel and accommodation on their holiday.
The expanding tourist crowd has driven up demand for properties for sale in Calabria, especially tourist property, and this in turn has driven up prices. It has also made holiday lets easier to fill with tenants, and this has led the region’s increasing popularity with tourists to be mirrored by growing interest from investors. Commercial properties have similarly benefitted, with businesses such as bars and restaurants thriving on tourist money and bringing greater demand for high-quality, flexible premises.
However, for many investors the key fact is that this process of growth is still ongoing. As such, many buyers are particularly drawn to the area in the hope of picking up an affordable property which is poised for rapid growth as the area continues to take off.
