Italy’s northern regions, encompassing Lake Como, Lake Maggiore, Lake Garda, and Liguria are iconic destinations for second homes driven by both domestic and international interest. These regions attract thousands of visitors each year and have been thoroughly established destinations for decades. Lakes Maggiore and Garda are quickly emerging as prime markets that are becoming popular destinations in Italy, driven both by the undersupply in Lake Como and their comparative affordability.

Prime prices have, for the most part, increased for all locations in this region, led by Lake Como. The international recognition and extreme desirability of Lake Como as well as the limited supply found around the lake has driven prices up by 19.9% in 2023 alone. Liguria is the only region that did not see price growth over the past five-year period, due to largely more stable levels of demand.
This region remains popular with every location seeing positive transactions growth over the past five years; Lake Maggiore leads with a 20% increase in transactions on 2019, reflecting its comparative affordability. 

Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda have seen the largest gains in rents, up of 64.7% and 44.1% respectively in 2023, and some 67.8% and 109.4% on 2019, respectively. Both have benefitted as a more affordable alternative to the Lake Como region, which has greater international attention and chronic undersupply.

Turning to the coast, Liguria has seen far greater growth in rents than in capital values, recording a 33.8% increase in 2023, attributed to the sharp decline in supply and increased demand for rental properties.

Looking forward to 2024, the region as a whole will likely continue to be impacted by global trends including higher interest rates and macroeconomic uncertainty. While this may have a negative impact on the established locations as it did in 2023, the more affordable emerging regions may benefit as higher borrowing costs incentivise buyers to see lower cost options.