New Property for sale in Sicily

A quick post to let you know about 2 new properties we have added to InvestSicily.com

May 2009 - Fairly new small villa near to Taormina, Sicily. Apprx 160 metres square and quite close to the beach and village. This is through Iemme Real Estate. Details:

May 2009 - Also just added, Farmhous for sale in Ragusa. 200 square meters and in the countryside and a great opportunity for a property in a relaxed part of Sicily.

Messina Bridge Development - Sicily bridge

The Messina bridge Development which would connect mainland Italy with Siicly could start in 2010 and it it does, it will be one of the most amazing bridge developments in the world.

Soem people oppose the bridge because they say it will create environmental problems, mean more money for the mafia and could be better spent. There are certainly benefits though and these would be:

• Much quicker travel times between Sicily and the mainland.
• A lot of construction jobs.
• Increased property prices in Sicily and Southern Italy.
• Improvements for road freight to and from Sicily.

Send us your comments with your views. Do you want the Messina Bridge development to proceed? Are you opposed to it?

Alternative Islands: Buying property in Northern Cyprus

The North of Cyprus for real estate, is considered by many to potentially be a prime location for buying. The Northern coast, compared to other areas in Cyprus, is less developed and up until recently, it avoided the large developments.

The Northern coast is now expected to become an important investment area and over the next 10 years and according to who you talk to, or what media you read, the prices on the North coast of Cyprus could quite likely rocket!

Overall, Cyprus continues to be popular for visitors, with numbers in recent years rising, and with many areas of Cyprus as a whole, continuing to develop. Many older people are these days deciding to retire to Cyprus and rental opportunities, at least at the time of writing, continue to be good.

If you are thinking about buying property in Cyprus, do consider the North coast of Cyprus, especially if you are looking for somewhere with potential for profit.

Property in Sicily and the economy

It is a strange time for buying and selling property with the economy sluggish and the EU State officially now in recession. Many of you often ask me if it is a good or bad time to buy and sell in Sicily and it really depends on your personal situation.

Sicily and Italy as a whole are a bit different in that the Italian economy has been in downturn for 2-3 years now and thus the recession will have far less effect in Sicily and Italy, than it is likely to in countries such as Spain, Germany and the UK.

It also depends on why you are buying and selling. If you are selling for example you may get less money now than 2 years ago, but then rebuying you can buy cheaper. Also if you are selling in Italy and plan to be in a country such as the UK, the weakness of Pound Sterling actually makes you 20% better off than 1 year ago just in currency rates so it could be a great time to sell in Sicily to buy in the UK for example. You can see that it really depends on your personal situation.

You can view the latest Sicily property offerings online and the latest is a 4 bedroom apartment in Catania. Location is very central and close to the rocks near to sea-front area.

Sicily flights with Alitalia

Alitalia seem to be on their last legs and it is probably best to try and avoid booking now with Alitalia. There are several airline which fly to Sicily including airlines such as:

• AirOne (to/from Catania and Palermo)
• Meridiana airline (Catania and Palermo)
• British Airways (into Catania)

You can find a full list of flights and airlines to Sicily, Italy online.

Xmas Flights to Sicily, Italy

If you are also looking to spend Christmas in Sicily, I advise you to think early about booking flights because budget flight prices for between Dec 20th and Jan 5th will be unlikely. Outside of those dates you can still get excellent prices with British Airways from London, UK but during those dates prices are almost triple.

I surfed the various airline sites and price comparison sites a few days ago and I did find tickets for £170 return including taxes direct between London and Catania direct and booked.

Alitalia at this time also have a sale on and you can fly to Sicily from London, UK for £150 including taxes, provided you do not mind one stop on mainland Italy AND these fares were Expedia.co.uk Special fares. Let us know of any good prices and deals wih your comments. More info about flights to Sicily here.

The Etna Erupts

The Etna has been active again this last week with a seismic shift which caused the Etna to sprew some ash and to rumble a little. The Etna was lettign off steam the last few days and seems now to be settling.

For those of you thinking about buying property in Sicily, do no tbe alarmed. The Etna is an active volcano which is active and which every summer lets off a little steam. People are not usually in danger because the lava which does flow is usually controlled using machine diggers to carve a convenient patht for the lava to follow.

In terms of Sicily property news, the latest apartments in Sicily for sale are available on Invest Sicily. If you are also interested in Skiing in Italy read this.