When talking about real estate in Italy the first province every foreigner will name is of course Tuscany. Ever since the renaissance this area has bloomed and boomed as never before and has continued to do so up to today. As Tuscany has always been higher in demand it seems only right that real estate is more costly than in our more southern state. But, is this also justified when looking of the quality of the real estate on the market and the quality of life in general?
Knowledgable professionals like real estate brokers tell us this is actually not the case! And quite frequently they refer their clients to us, very much aware that shopping in Umbria might get them a better deal. So let’s see what motivates them to say so.
First of all they acknowledge that Tuscan sellers are known to rather rely on the brand Tuscany to pump up the value of their properties. Rather than on high quality renovation or construction work. In Umbria however homes get restored by owners that simply love both the characteristics of the region as well as those of their homes. Skilled people, beautiful materials, and lots of TLC flow into decrepit old houses and ruins and create gorgeous high quality properties.
Our Tuscan colleagues sometimes react surprised when they go on tour with us and take in the scenery. Umbria also has rolling hills, breathtaking views, lots of ancient structures like watchtowers and castles, and apart from all of that Umbria has many different faces. Lago Trasimeno is very different from Umbertide, from the wine region of Monte Falco, the splendid area around Todi and so on. Cities like Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto and Orvieto are world famous yet easy accessible and pleasantly quiet. And so when they share this info with their clients theses last ones turn out to be very willing to explore Umbria as their future home. They would end up in Tuscany because of the brand and not because Umbria is not good enough. A quick talk can changes this around pretty easily.
Apart from the scenery Umbrian real estate has a much appreciated look of its own. Umbria however largely missed out on the historic era of the Renaissance and pretty much kept to itself which still shows in the very authentic medieval look of many hamlets and historic centers as well as farmhouses. All built in stone instead of the more prized and costly bricks we often see in Tuscany. Very few decorations, sturdy walls and small windows define the key features of many of the ancient buildings.
To the above we can add another obvious remark. Whereas living in Umbria means you are close to both Tuscany and Rome the residents of Tuscany are a long way from our Italian capital and live in an increasingly more crowded area. The flood of tourists leads to complaints about how busy for example Firenze gets once the tourist season has begun. More people, more traffic, less parking space and higher prices for amenities lead to a less enjoyable environment.
Finally we recommend potential buyers to take a quick look at the weather statistics. Doing so reveals that the autumn, winter and early spring bring much more sunny days to Umbria than Tuscany. We are protected from the sea by Tuscany and the Apennines, the northern wind brings clear skies and only wind from the south will carry rain with it.
In all we like to say that your money will buy you a great location and very often a nicer property when spending it in Umbria rather then Tuscany. And as more and more people discover Umbria, for years now it is nicknamed “the new Tuscany”, we predict your investment here will certainly not be a bad one. Especially with the knowledge that there are very many restrictions which protect our Umbrian landscape as well as the value of the currently present properties.
