Positive week for the real estate sector, both at a European and Italian level, with various data certifying the good growth of the sector in recent months. Fears for growth and inflation linked to the war in the Middle East remain in the background.
The ECB’s monthly bulletin confirmed that the stability of the Eurozone will now be put into crisis by the increased uncertainty resulting from the conflict, with the prospects of inflation growth which will place monetary policy faced with a more complex scenario dominated by a series of critical issues. “The continuation of the conflict could further increase the prices of energy goods for a longer period than currently expected, as well as weighing on the climate of confidence. Such factors would erode incomes and accentuate the reluctance of businesses and families towards investments and consumption”, warned Frankfurt.
The macro data of the week
Mortgage applications in the United States are confirmed to be declining. In the week to March 27, the index measuring the volume of mortgage loan applications recorded a decline of 10.4%, after the -10.5% recorded the previous week. The index relating to refinancing requests decreased by 17.3%, while that relating to new applications fell by 10.4%. Mortgage rates instead increased for the fifth consecutive week. Freddie Mac reported that the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages stood at 6.46% as of April 2, 2026, up from 6.38% the previous week. A year ago, the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 6.64%.
Meanwhile, US real estate prices slowed in January: the FHFA index developed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which measures US housing prices, recorded a monthly increase of 0.1%, after the +0.3% recorded in the previous month (revised from +0.1%) and the +0.1% expected by analysts. The S&P Case-Shiller index, which measures the price trend in the main twenty metropolitan areas of the United States, also showed an increase on an annual basis of 1.2%, down compared to the +1.4% of the previous month and expected by consensus.
Returning to Europe, according to the statistics on bank interest rates in the euro area published by the ECB, in February 2026 the composite indicator of the cost of money for new mortgages to families for the purchase of homes remains essentially unchanged at 3.37%.
News from the sector
MutuiOnline.it has announced the launch of its app on ChatGPT, introducing a new way of accessing one of the most relevant financial decisions for families. It is the first operator in Italy to bring mortgage comparison directly into the artificial intelligence platform.
The 1st Observatory on the Real Estate Market of Nomisma found that in the first months of 2026 the Italian real estate market showed an overall positive trend, with the residential sales sector consolidating the growth trend already started in 2025, while the rental segment still recorded high levels, albeit with a slight reduction.
Finally, according to the Unimpresa Study Center, after the decline in the two-year period 2023-2024, the European real estate market has started to grow again: residential investments in the euro area show a slight increase in 2025 (+0.2%) and are expected to grow in 2026 (+2.5%). However, the recovery will be gradual and will not allow a return to 2022 levels before 2027.
The performance of the sector on the stock exchange
The real estate sector on the stock market had a very positive week, doing better than the pan-European Stoxx 600 Real Estate index which gained 4.5% on a weekly basis. The Italian FTSE Italia All Share Real Estate index shows a solid increase of 6.57%, performing even better than the FTSE MIB market index (+4.4%). Among the real estate companies listed on Piazza Affari, the best performance is that of Risanamento which soars with +24.3%. IGD also did well, advancing by 6.6% on a weekly basis and Gabetti (+2.9%). Next Re unchanged, Abitare In did badly (-2.1%) and Aedes lost 4.4%.
