APCOM

More than 7 million euros: this is the price of the most expensive house in Italy. It is a 390 square meters penthouse in Milano, and has a big terrace with a park's view. This was the most expensive real estate deal of 2007, revealed Nomisma's study about luxury houses.

Milano's houses are still more expensive than roman ones. But Rome keeps on attracting more foreign buyers, interested on a charming house in historical city centre. The 10% of the luxury real estate in Rome is represented by foreigners, while in Milano they are only 2%. But luxury real estate is a secondary market in Italy. Why? "For a lot of years in our Country nobody built luxury houses", says Marco Tirelli, ceo of Tirelli & Partners, a real estate agency in Milano. "This is why luxury sector is not as developed as in other countries". The agency is one of the top in the world on this business: it deals exclusively with properties that have a minimum value of 600.000 euros.

"Prices can't go down as the offer is so limited", comments Tirelli. "A house in a prestigious area of Milan is destined to grow in value because, while the population tends to became richer, there are a limited number of luxury apartments", says Marco Tirelli. "In Milano, the same areas that were exclusive 50 years ago are still exclusive, and the places that weren't still aren't". Milano is very expensive for rental too. If you want to rent a luxury house in Milano you have to pay from 200 to 500 euros per square meter in a year, while in Roma the prices are from 260 to 437 euros.