It is not easy to identify a good property hotspot, as their appeal varies through time and it is also influenced by investors' taste and preferences. According to Linda Travella of Casa Travella, UK, US and European buyers recently started showing more interest in Italian property market and viewings are set to rise in 2015 with budget and luxury homes attracting particularly strong demand.

Casa Travella is a property agency based in the UK which was founded in 1987 to enable British clients to buy property in Italy with the help of professional advice and personal service.

The company has been monitoring the Italian real estate market for quite a long time, and a growing demand for Italian real estate was registered in 2014. Among the most requested locations are the very traditional areas of Puglia, Lake Como and Tuscany, although Mrs Travella has also identified a rising interest for two other locations: the Dolomites and the Marche region.

According to Mrs Travella, "This has been a good year for the Italian property market and to buy Italian property, with bargains still to be found in many areas. If the first quarter of 2015 is as busy as the first quarter of 2014 then this will be a very positive sign indeed and I can see no reason why not. The euro is weaker against the pound, which is a great advantage and, of course, encourages clients to purchase more readily."

The Italian property market has been significantly hit by the global financial crisis, but this impasse has now raised the chances to find a good buy in the country. Finally, Mrs Travella noticed that clients who are trying to put their properties on the market at an inflated value are not selling, as there are many other sellers interested in negotiating with buyers paying "cash in hand".

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