Real estate in France experienced a piece-by-piece real
estate surge as its own high speed train system is put into
place. This is also referred to as the Ryan Air effect,
whereby values rise as budget airlines arrive. This is due
to the ease of getting to property that was once considered
in the middle of nowhere - or at least hard to get to.
The Italian high speed train service is known as the TAV in
Italy, which stands for treno ad alta velocità, or,
more generically, ES Itallia for Euro Star Italy. The high
speed route from Rome to Naples is nearly complete and
portions of the route from Turin to Milan are also open.
Another line from Milan to Rome is scheduled to open in
early 2009. The state train company, Trenitalia, has train
service throughout Italy to all major cities currently. The
high speed trains can run, and currently do, on several of
the main line tracks, but at reduced speeds not approaching
their 300 kph maximum. When the new lines are complete,
they will be able to whisk passengers between the major
cities throughout the country.
With the new lines and service, new stations are being
built and old ones renovated. Trenitalia is investing
€2.5 billion in new stations for Bologna, Naples and
Florence and renovations in Milan, Rome and Turin.
According to Carlo de Vito, who oversees the 2,400 stations
throughout the country for Trenitalia, the changes can have
a considerable impact: "A new station near the center of a
big city makes that area more appealing to the middle class
willing to commute, and the same will happen with the
high-speed train." He adds that ""When we open a new
station there is a 30 to 40 percent rise in real estate
values in just a few years." While property in Italy in
major cities is improving, some see the most potential for
cities that currently don't have the access of the big ones.
One such city is Genoa, the end of a planned Milan-Genoa
line. These cities don't have the easy and relatively
inexpensive access that the larger ones do. The new train
service, much like new low-fair air service, can help
newcomers get to the city and discover its charms and, more
importantly, its real estate.
So what is on offer in Italy? Italian farmhouses that
require renovation work, houses with rustic charm off plan
property at Lake Como or city apartments in Milan. There is
plenty on offer for the overseas buyers in Italy.
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Nicholas Marr is clearly an observer of life and front row
spectator of the events in the overseas property market. A
lifetime property investor his UK based company Marr
International runs the overseas property portal at
http://www.homesgofast.com/Italy/index.php
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