Interest in investing in Italy's villages and small towns is emerging as a major real estate trend for 2023. And as one of the most convenient and profitable portfolio choices.

One indicator of this trend is ITS Lending, Italy's only real estate lending crowdfunding platform dedicated to the regeneration of Italian villages and historic centers, which, in just over 12 months, has raised 1.8 million euros helping to finance the renovation of 26 properties in six regions.

To date, the portal has repaid 15 loans, plus interest, totaling 692,000 euros. With ITS Lending, in fact, those who invest lend a capital, starting from just 100 euros, which will be returned to them, at the end of the operation, together with the accrued interest. The average interest rate is around 9.4 percent on an annual basis, against an average loan term of 8 months, compared to the average 13 in the real estate lending crowdfunding market.

This is a very advantageous combination for anyone who decides to allocate part of their investment in real estate. In fact, it allows for a very quick turnaround of the invested capital - precisely only 8 months - at, however, a much higher gross interest rate than any other form of investment.
The most interesting investment opportunities can be seen in the small and medium-sized municipalities of Italy, in particular, in areas far from metropolitan contexts, in the South and in historic centers.

"We have more and more evidence of interest in our Italian villages, both from Italians and, above all, from foreigners, who are looking for alternative destinations to 'mainstream' locations, not so much to spend their vacations there, but to change their lifestyle and live there at least part of the year," says Fabio Allegreni, head of Business Strategy at ITS Lending.

"It is not yet an established phenomenon, but for those like us, together with our parent company ITS ITALY, who are able to able to concentrate the offer, it is enough to translate it into real estate opportunities."

The demand for real estate, especially European and global, has become increasingly demanding, with the demand for state-of-the-art facilities in terms of energy efficiency, sustainability, safety, environmental friendliness and technological equipment: places where it is possible to reconcile, in full comfort, personal and professional life. And this is yet another trend for 2023 that emerges from an analysis by real estate group JJL and that does not catch Italy's boroughs unprepared.

"Property buyers, whose renovation is also financed by those who invest in ITS Lending, are particularly sensitive to sustainability and the availability of technological infrastructure. As a result, the projects we select must necessarily have these requirements," Allegreni says.

"2022 was a test year and our goal for 2023 is to increase the number of deals by also increasing the average amount of individual collections," Allegreni continues. "We have a lot of new deals in the pipeline, both in boroughs that have already appeared on our portal and in new ones. Finally, we do not exclude, before the end of the year, also launching crowdfunding campaigns to help finance small business activities in the villages targeted by the real estate interventions to stimulate their revitalization also in their economic sector."