Real Estate Market Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis: Which Prospects for the Metropolitan Area of Naples (Italy)?

Abstract

The health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world since the beginning of 2020, changing living and working conditions. The pandemic has generated a crisis that is having and will continue to have consequences on all sectors of the economy, including the real estate market. During the lockdown period, houses became spaces for both living and working, as well as for leisure activities. Therefore, they were modified to meet the new requirements of communities forced to spend most of their time at home. This will also affect the real estate market in the near future in terms of trends and the characteristics of desirable houses. This research aims to analyse the trends in the residential market in Italy and in particular in the metropolitan area of Naples (Italy). Starting from official sources, the trends of the real estate market, and in particular in the metropolitan area of Naples from 2009 to 2020, have been analysed. Then, two surveys were conducted involving both the community and real estate agents operating in the territory, in order to investigate the effects that COVID-19 has had on the real estate market. The analysis carried out highlights structural changes in the demand for residential properties in the metropolitan area of Naples due to the new requirements as a result of COVID-19.