Happy New Year from Nardò!

I wrote a piece called more than 12 days of Christmas in Puglia some years ago, which came to mind last week as I went for a walk and a drink in the square. It was the Befana or Epiphany – the day that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem with gifts for the baby Jesus but, in Italy, the day that a witch like character called the Befana rides in on a broomstick bringing, largely edible, gifts for good children.

Finally, people got back to work last Monday, and we have been able to make real progress on our A Palazzo in Puglia project, which includes Palazzo Viva which I wrote about previously. All details here.

As always, I have been inundated with alerts from all the property portals with notifications of properties for sale. Sifting through some of the, absolutely not interesting, offers I found some which looked like they had potential. I am seeing quite a few reductions in price, but this happens every year at this time – almost like a property January sale! These will usually be properties which went on the market in October/November, at a reasonable price and have been reduced because they haven’t sold yet. I would expect them to be gone by March/April. So now is a good time to be viewing. If you would like help with a property viewing trip email me at personalpuglia@gmail.com.

I will also be running a series of free seminars on buying property in Puglia which I haven’t done for a while. These are in very small groups, so lots of opportunities to ask questions. The first is on the 25^th at 7pm GMT, then on the 27^th at 4 pm GMT. Email if you would like to join or send me a WhatsApp message on +39 3917982054. I will also be hosting a question-and-answer session on A Palazzo in Puglia on the 24^th at 7pm, but I am also happy to speak to people individually if you have any questions.

A good example of the January sale phenomenon, is a property in the historic centre of Nardo, now on the market at 125,000 reduced from 149,000. It probably needs 150-200 spending on it to fulfill its full potential but has 4 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, a kitchen, and parking and storage on the ground floor. There is a terrace off the kitchen as well as a roof terrace.  It only has one bathroom at the moment but there is the potential to add other ensuite bathrooms. 149 sqm.

A similar property, with interesting features and two terraces is on the market at 120,000, which is a fair price, but it is smaller, at 130 sq metres without the parking and providing a bedroom less.

I have previously mentioned that prices are lower if you go further South to towns like Matino, Casarano or Parabita. These are close to some fabulous beaches but further from the airport (1 hr 9 minutes rather than Nardò 40 minutes) and Lecce (40 minutes rather than Nardò 20 minutes).

Copertino, however, is 15 minutes from Nardò and slightly nearer Lecce and the Airport. It has been slower to ’come up’, despite having a castle and an attractive historic centre, perhaps because historically it was considered slightly dodgy. I have no evidence of that still being the case, however, and prices are often reasonable. Recently I was sent an apartment which is on the market at 95,000 with vaulted ceilings, original floors and a balcony and roof terrace as well as a garage.

I will be doing a round up of property in other areas shortly and a further article on buying properties on a tight budget – do subscribe using the button above if you want notifications when new posts are added.