La Dolce Vita: Italian real estate for globally mobile UHNW families – resilience, lifestyle and value

Rising international wealth and greater mobility among ultra‑high‑net‑worth individuals and families continue to support demand across Southern European real estate markets. Within this landscape, Italy stands out for its combination of resilient pricing and strong lifestyle appeal across prime locations steeped in history and glamour. Saydam Salaheddin, Global Head of Real Estate Lending, and Milan-based lending specialist Marco Guario, share their perspectives – and where some of the most compelling potential opportunities lie.

Global wealth is becoming increasingly mobile, and private capital continues to grow amid a backdrop of ongoing uncertainty. The number of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals – people with a net worth exceeding 30 million US dollars – is currently estimated at 713,626 internationally, up by over 160,000 since 2021, or the equivalent of 89 new UHNWIs every day over the last five years, according to research by Knight Frank[1].

The planet’s centimillionaire and billionaire population is also increasing, reinforcing demand for super-prime, lifestyle-driven real estate markets as families and business founders organise their lives across multiple jurisdictions – seeking security, opportunity, education, healthcare, connectivity, and personal wellbeing.

Italy is increasingly attracting international wealth

Italy is benefiting from this trend. In 2025, the country was expected to attract a net inflow of 3,600 high-net-worth individuals, bringing an estimated net wealth transfer of 20.7 billion US dollars – placing it among the world’s leading destinations for millionaire migration[2]. Between 2021 and 2026, the number of UHNW individuals in Italy increased by nearly 25 percent to more than 15,400. Over the next five years, it is expected to rise by a further eight percent to nearly 17,000[3].

At the policy level, Italy has reinforced its intent to compete for internationally mobile wealth by raising its new-residents flat-tax regime to 300,000 euros for new applicants from 2026.

“Italy is steeped in history. From the Roman Empire to the Renaissance and beyond, the country stands out on the world stage as a hub for creativity and craftsmanship, as well as a benchmark of luxury. It has long been a favoured destination among global jetsetters drawn to its awe-inspiring cities and towns, and breathtaking natural landscapes, not to forget its universally loved food, coffee and wine,” comments Saydam Salaheddin.

According to Milan-based Marco Guario, UHNW interest in Italian luxury real estate is underpinned by a blend of “hard” and “soft” factors.

“It’s a combination of the strength of the country brand and the scarcity of irreplaceable heritage – art, historic cities and lifestyle – alongside structurally strong tourism demand, which also supports trophy assets such as hotels,” he says.

“And in this market backdrop, real estate returns are increasingly driven by income and growth expectations – especially for trophy assets – rather than yield compression.”

Why now for Italian super-prime real estate?

On the “why now”, the signals are strengthening of a recovery that remains selective and concentrated in quality. In 2025, Italy’s commercial real estate (CRE) investment volumes exceeded 12 billion euros (+17 percent year-on-year), with foreign capital accounting for nearly 60 percent[4] – an indicator of renewed confidence, alongside a clear focus on prime assets and value-add strategies. Simultaneously, the residential backdrop has been improving, with national house prices rising for multiple consecutive years.

“It’s not only limited to the traditional real estate sectors – offices in certain districts of Milan and Rome have continued to perform against a favourable policy backdrop,” notes Guario. “The flat-tax regime has supported international relocations, particularly from markets like the UK and the US. And even if the gap is narrowing in major cities such as Milan and Rome, Italy still generally offers a lower cost of living than many European peers,” he says.

“In a period of global instability, that combination of quality, lifestyle and relative value matters. My expectation is that some UHNW clients will re-anchor in Europe, and that some buyers from Asia – and others reassessing the Middle East – may look to Italy, or Southern Europe more broadly, as an alternative to destinations where security has come into question.”

Where are the most compelling opportunities in Italian real estate?

The potential opportunity set in Italy is most compelling where resilient demand meets a structurally constrained supply of truly “premium” product – creating potential to build value through repositioning, upgrading and hands-on operations. In practice, this tends to show up most clearly in three areas: prime and luxury residential in gateway cities and lifestyle markets; hospitality in destinations with strong tourism fundamentals and a disciplined development pipeline; and repositioning and conversion projects, from historic palazzi to office-to-hotel and mixed-use, lifestyle-led schemes.

“In hospitality, we see a broad pipeline – not only in luxury and super-luxury, but also in the 4‑star superior segment,” says Guario. “That part of the market often attracts an affluent, typically foreign clientele, and in many destinations, occupancy ratios are well above 90 percent.

“On the residential side, demand is increasingly focused on quality and usability – renovated prime apartments, small-scale developments in core districts, and hybrid concepts such as serviced apartments or branded residences where an operator can genuinely differentiate the experience,” he adds.

According to Salaheddin, international demand is broadening across Italy rather than remaining concentrated among professionals relocating to Milan.

“For many UHNW buyers, the focus remains on a primary or secondary residence in the 5–40 million euro range. The domestic wealth base adds further depth to this demand,” he says.

“Until a few years ago, international demand was largely work-related and focused primarily on greater Milan, with some spillover into Rome. Today, while those markets continue to attract interest, we are also seeing renewed demand around the lakes, in the mountains, on the islands and across a number of secondary cities," Salaheddin continues.

“Demand is now more diverse, spanning those relocating for work or tax reasons as well as buyers seeking second or third homes for lifestyle purposes. Some clients moving to Milan, for example, are also acquiring homes in the mountains or by the coast for weekends and shorter breaks.”

Which Italian real estate locations matter most at the top end?

At the very top end of Italy’s real estate luxury market, the step up from prime to super-prime is typically defined by a small set of irreplaceable attributes – waterfront or panoramic views, a landmark address, heritage character, micro-location and genuine scarcity – alongside the practicalities that UHNW buyers increasingly expect, from turnkey condition and security to healthcare access and high-quality services.

“Many international families are indeed now taking a ‘two-centre’ approach,” explains Guario. “For foreign UHNW clients, Milan – and to a certain extent Rome – can work as a home base because the infrastructure is there: airports, healthcare, international schools, and the network and events they want to access. At the same time, they often want a second home in destinations like Florence, Venice, the Lakes, the Amalfi Coast or Sardinia – places that are easy to reach, but offer a depth of history, lifestyle and landscape that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.

“As interest in Italian real estate locations broadens beyond the headline names, we’ve seen less famous destinations such as Puglia, Sicily and the Dolomites move into focus over the past five to seven years,” says Guario. “For the Dolomites in particular, the recent Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games has helped to raise the region’s international profile.”

How should UHNW buyers in Italy consider financing and liquidity?

Financing considerations look materially different depending on whether an UHNW client is assessing CRE as part of portfolio allocation, or residential real estate (RRE) as a home, or second home, purchase. Guario stresses that the objectives, risk drivers and lending dynamics are not the same, and that structuring should reflect the underlying use case and business plan.

“With CRE, it’s primarily an asset allocation decision within a portfolio,” says Guario. “In Italy, several sectors – especially hospitality and offices, but also retail and logistics – have historically offered stable income yields and, in some cases, attractive returns relative to comparable assets in other markets or similar asset classes.”

Used at an appropriate level, leverage can be a potentially powerful driver of growth on stabilised assets – and even more so where the asset requires capital expenditure for renovation or repositioning, or where you can unlock value through an active business plan, according to Guario. However, leverage also increases risk and can magnify losses, particularly if market conditions or asset performance do not evolve as expected.

“Together with the stabilisation of interest rates, those dynamics have brought banks and other lenders back to the sector over the past four to five years, with renewed appetite and often very competitive terms,” Guario adds.

“Residential is a different case,” he points out. “Demand tailwinds – not least the flat-tax regime – combined with a relatively supportive environment for borrowers, may facilitate access to financing on terms that, in our view, are very competitive versus other European markets, particularly for prime assets and borrowers with clear and comprehensive financial documentation.”

How can a private bank support UHNW ambitions in Italy?

For a private bank, the real differentiator is the service model around the client, and the ability to deliver consistently across borders, rather than just the product alone. Guario comments: “In straightforward situations – for example, financing secured by Italian collateral – local banks can often be very competitive.”

But limitations tend to arise when the picture becomes more complex. “As soon as you need bespoke structuring, coordination across multiple advisors, or a single point of contact who can manage the full balance sheet, that’s where an international private bank play a meaningful role,” he says.

Salaheddin adds: “Some foreigners coming to Italy prefer to retain their existing banker relationship in their home market communicating in their mother tongue while knowing that Deutsche Bank also has the local expertise to help them.

“Crucially, that support flows in both directions – it’s not only about helping international families execute in Italy,” he highlights. “We also work with Italian UHNW clients as they pursue ambitions overseas – whether that’s a home in a prime city abroad or structuring around business assets and family office needs across jurisdictions. The differentiator is a global lending team with strong local presence: teams on the ground who understand each market, connected through one platform and one relationship.”

In other words, as mobility reshapes how UHNW individuals and families live, invest and finance real estate, an end-to-end approach can be helpful: local expertise, cross-border execution and a service framework designed to handle complexity – in Italy and beyond.