Positive week for the real estate sector on the stock market, both in Europe and in Italy, with news of progress towards a certain degree of peace and a potential reopening to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz largely driving the relative optimism. A key step was the 10-day ceasefire agreed Thursday between Israel and Lebanon, as an end to the fighting is one of Iran’s main demands, which then announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is now “fully open” to commercial traffic, a major step toward ending the war with the United States and Israel that has sent energy prices soaring.
The reflections of the Middle East
As oil prices have fallen, expectations of rising inflation and interest rates have also fallen. Most analysts have revised their forecasts for the ECB, which impacts the eurozone property market, now predicting a 25-point rate cut in June and another in July, rather than in April and June.
“Although the conflict in the Middle East contributes to increased geopolitical volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty in the short term, its implications for the European real estate sector are expected to be indirect and manageable – commented Joanna Tano, Head of Research, European Real Estate, and Alex Dunn, Research Analyst, European Real Estate, at Columbia Threadneedle Investments – Slower growth, moderately higher inflation and evolving monetary policy expectations could impact prices and financing conditions, but the sector’s strong fundamentals, supply constraints and the resurgence of investor interest provide some resilience.”
“The income characteristics of the real estate sector, the benefits of diversification and the partial protection from inflation continue to support its role in portfolios, with a possible short-term decline in prices which could create an interesting entry point – the two experts noted – Fundamentally, long-term demand will continue to be determined by structural trends rather than geopolitical shocks, favoring precise and selective exposure over broad sector positioning”.
The performance of the sector on the stock exchange
The real estate sector experienced a positive week at a European level, with the Stoxx 600 Real Estate index recording an increase of 2.5%, higher than that of the Stoxx Europe 600 (+0.9%).
A good performance was also achieved by Italy, where the FTSE Italia All Share Real Estate index showed an upward trend of 2.6% on a weekly basis, similar to the FTSE MIB index (+2.6%).
Real estate securities listed in Milan
Among the real estate companies listed on Piazza Affari, there was a slow week for Next Re which awaits the takeover bid. Risanamento e Abitare In. Positive Gabetti (+10%), Aedes (+2.5%), IGD (+3.6%) slightly up. Brioschi badly (-6.7%).
Among the corporate announcements, the takeover bid for Next RE by CPI Property Group will start on 20 April, with the Board of Directors of the company listed on Piazza Affari deeming the consideration offered by the Czech group to be appropriate. The shareholders’ meeting of IGD SIIQ, one of the main players in Italy in the retail real estate sector, approved the financial statements as at 31 December 2025 and the distribution of a dividend of 0.15 euros. Dotstay, a company listed on EGM PRO and active in the real estate sector as a relocation and property management operator for medium-long term rentals, has successfully concluded the first sale of a property in Milan, inaugurating a new line of revenues.
Macro data and sector studies
This week interesting data arrived from Gate-away.com, which tried to photograph how the current international crisis situation is influencing and redefining priorities, times and strategies of foreign real estate buyers interested in Italy. The results highlight a key fact: the demand for homes does not stop, but evolves. Over half of users (55%) continue to actively look for a home in Italy without changing their plans, while a growing segment of buyers adopts a more prudent and flexible approach, slowing down decisions and favoring gradual strategies. New behaviors are also emerging, such as the increase in exploratory stays and temporary rentals before purchasing, a sign of a more aware demand oriented towards the direct evaluation of the territory.
Negative signals have arrived from the US real estate market: sales of existing homes in the United States recorded a decline of 3.6% on a monthly basis in March 2026, after +2.7% in February. Meanwhile, mortgage applications have started to rise again in the United States: in the week to 10 April, the index measuring the volume of mortgage loan applications recorded an increase of 1.8%, after the -0.8% recorded the previous week.
