Article by: Chris Dunkerley chris.dunkerley@thegpg.com Published: 29/02/2008

The search for villas in Calabria.

It is only a few days into 2008 and I am already I back in Calabria, the most southerly part of mainland Italy, looking for more apartments and villas for sale. I have been coming to this beautiful and relatively unknown part of Italy for the last 3 years to locate the best Calabrian property for sale. This is not just as simple as driving around looking for “Vendita” on buildings. Visiting Calabrian estate agent’s offices is almost certainly not going to result in finding a dream property that has somehow been overlooked by everyone else. It’s all about the right contacts. It is also about where you want to be. Down on the beaches summer temperatures are hot and winter temperatures are mild. Inland the mountains rise to over 2,000 mtrs (6,000 ft) giving rise to a cooler Alpine climate and snow and ski-ing in the winter. These higher regions are heavily forested with lakes and waterfalls.

Why Calabria?

Calabria has been a popular destination with Italians for a long time. The cost of living (and also the properties) is significantly cheaper than in the north of the country. Since 2006 international budget airlines have been flying directly into Lamezia SUF making the region accessible to people from northern Europe. Flight times from the UK are only 2 hours 15 minutes making it as quick as flying to Spain. Return flights can be had for as little as £40.

Professional investors often follow the budget airlines because they know that accessibility usually triggers price rises in the local property market and there is evidence of this starting to happen. With more and more people visiting there is a shortage of suitable property and still time to become an ‘early bird’ investor.

Resale Property in Calabria

Resale property in Calabria is particularly difficult to find with many properties changing hands through word of mouth without ever involving one of the small number of Calabrian estate agents or the even smaller number of English speaking estate agents in Calabria. Finding a resale property is more about knowing someone who may know someone who has a property for sale, or more accurately, someone who may sell if the price is right. Incidentally this is exactly how I found the land for our latest luxury detached villas in Calabria.

As a result of my contacts I have found some very interesting resale property in Calabria. Many overseas agents do not deal with resale property in Calabria but at The GPG we are pleased to be able to offer the following types of properties.

*Apartments and townhouse in walking distance to the beach from 70,000 euro

*Apartments and townhouses (or duplex apartments, depending on definition) with sea views and large roof terraces from 70,000 euro

*Apartments and villas for renovation from 40,000 euro... you will need imagination, time, lots of patience, and money for this option.

However resale property in Calabria will, in almost all cases, need a new kitchen, bathroom(s) and decorating inside and out.

A word of caution - it is quite common NOT to include the kitchen and perhaps light fittings and switches in an Italian property sale. Many Italian property sellers will expect to take the kitchen with them to their new property! You should check what is and what is not included with your purchase.

New Villas in Calabria for Sale

New build villas in Calabria are available to overseas property buyers who want something a bit more special, perhaps for retirement, short or long term living in a place that offers sun, beaches, mountains with skiing, and the Italian lifestyle, without the designer price tag.

The latest plots for sale in Calabria we have are offering clients the opportunity of having a villa built to fit whatever their budget will allow. We can offer a 3 bedroom detached villa with sea view, garage, open plan living space, on approximately 2000 sq meters of land from 230,000 euro. The price can be increased to over 600,000 euro for larger properties with more bedrooms, home offices, and larger living spaces on up to 5,000 sq meters of land.

These villas can be customised to include floor coverings from ceramic tiles to the most exclusive marble or granite, luxury kitchens and bathrooms, verandas and balconies, large exotic pools, solar power, and many other luxury and lifestyle features.

If this is of interest you should contact us today. sales@thegpg.com We only have 5 plots for villas in Calabria available at the time of writing (January 2008) and these will go fast. More will come available throughout the year but finding land and property in Calabria is just not that predictable.

The Return Home

My first visit of 2008 has now come to an end. We have just taken off from Lamezia Terme. It is early morning and as we climb through the haze I catch sight of the snow capped peak of Mount Etna. As we climb higher I can clearly make out the coastline of most of northern Sicily. The geography is spectacular. In the space of 50 km the land rises from sandy beach to high snow capped mountains and back down again to sandy beaches. There is no where else like this in Europe and there are over 3,000 years of Greek and Roman history to explore. It is hard to believe that in just over two hours I will be back in the UK. As drinks are served I am already planning my next visit.

External Article Link: http://www.property-partnership.com/overseas-property-guides/overseas-property-guide.cfm?id=116

Article Link: http://www.property-partnership.com/overseas-property-guides/overseas-property-guide.cfm?id=116

Please contact the author at chris.dunkerley@thegpg.com for more information.