Needless to say, numbers are down and not by a fraction but a great deal. A notary friend of mine told me recently, that for the very first time in his 35 year career, he had not signed the deeds of a single property transaction during the course of an entire week.

Interestingly though, what is emerging is a market that until now we had not experienced in Marche.

Compared with its more famous neighbours, Tuscany and Umbria, the real estate market is less mature and the region has not yet built a reputation as a smart place to invest, where sheer desirability causes property values to hold their own (better than most) and indeed improve in the medium term. What seems to be happening is that investors in search of desirable properties are looking beyond the tradition regional boundaries. The result is that in Marche where most buyers would buy wrecks to restore, today’s buyers are motivated above all by the aesthetic quality of property and are after beautiful, preferably restored houses whether they be villas, palazzo or farm houses.

This tendency is not proven by any sophisticated statistical analysis but seems to be the prevailing view of my colleagues in other agencies. Furthermore, the average sale value of houses sold by Vinci Properties has risen by more than 115%.

Here is a short list with photographs of recently sold houses.

If you are thinking of investing in Le Marche you might want to see the statistics we have compiled concerning buyers requirements. The statistics have been drawn from 2 full years work 2007 and 2008 before the economic crisis and prove interesting reading. The actual requirements are those that clients mentioned as “fundamental” when first contacted.

There are not enough statistics over time from which to draw a trend, but there is other useful data to help the investor - for instance, it is perhaps not surprising that 88% of all buyers want to be in the country, but it is important to note that half of those buyers want to be near a village. Also fundamental is the indication of size required. Three and four bedrooms are equally popular but five bedrooms are half as popular.

It would seem that the most poular combination is a 3-4 bedroom house in the countryside that requires restoration, has panoramic views  and more than 1 hectare of land. And if you can add an annex, space for a pool and proximity to a village, you’ve hit the spot.