In 2024, Italy saw a clear concentration of mortgage credit in eight cities in particular. According to the Real Estate Market Observatory Report of the Revenue Agency, these metropolises have absorbed over 34 billion euros of capital financed with mortgage loans, equal to 31.6% of the national total.
Big cities catalyze credit
Overall, the following cities recorded a 6.4% growth in the number of mortgaged properties compared to 2023, with a 31.3% jump in capital disbursed:
- Milan;
- Rome;
- Turin;
- Naples;
- Palermo;
- Bologna;
- Florence;
- Genoa.
This is a dynamic that shows how mortgage credit is increasingly concentrated in urban areas, where the average value of transactions is higher and where the function of the property as a financial guarantee is more solid and diversified.
At a national level, the weight of large cities remains disproportionate. Although they represent just 13% of mortgaged properties, they absorb almost a third of total capital. This means that operations in metropolises are on average more substantial, often linked to investment, development or refinancing projects, and not just to the purchase of a house.
Milan financial capital and credit laboratory
Milan confirms its position of absolute leadership. With 23.7 billion euros of mortgaged capital and almost 30 thousand properties involved, the Lombard capital alone represents 22% of the national total and over two thirds of the total capital of the large cities.
The growth compared to 2023 is extraordinary: +57.8% of the capital disbursed. A result driven above all by the non-residential sector, which accounts for over 80% of the financed value. Milan therefore stands out as a credit hub for businesses, investors and real estate operators, in which properties represent a means of generating capital, rather than a housing purpose.
This phenomenon confirms the structural transformation of the city, which for years has seen a growing incidence of corporate operations, urban redevelopments and development projects supported by international capital. The property, in Milan, is increasingly a lever for economic financing, not just a capital asset.
Lots of real estate in Rome, but slowing credit
If Milan dominates in value, Rome maintains the record for the number of mortgaged properties: over 37 thousand units, equal to 37% of the total of large cities. However, the capital provided in the capital is decreasing by 12.5%, falling to 6.1 billion euros. These are the numbers of a phase of slowdown in the Roman credit market, in contrast to the national trend.
The causes are multiple and range from the fragmentation of the real estate market, to the prevalence of medium-value residential deeds, to a lower presence of large investment operations compared to the Lombardy capital. However, Rome remains an important hub for credit to families, but shows signs of saturation in the residential sector and a more limited propensity to use property as a lever for productive credit.
In other metropolises there are signs of consolidation and growth
Outside of the two main hubs, the picture of the other large Italian cities shows widespread growth both in the number of mortgaged properties and in the financed capital. In detail:
- Turin (stable and expanding), +9.8% real estate, +8.3% capital. Mature credit market;
- Naples and Palermo (increases in capital disbursed), +26.1% and +43.1%, a sign of renewed confidence in urban credit in the South;
- Bologna and Genoa (growth in the number of mortgaged properties), +17.6% and +16%, with lower values than Milan and Rome;
- Florence (decrease on both fronts), –2.3% for properties and –18.4% for capital.
The weight of residential, territorial differences and the destination of credit
One of the most interesting aspects highlighted by the Report is the different composition of mortgage capital by type of deed. In Milan, the residential component accounts for only 19% of the total, a figure significantly lower than the national average (over 60%). In the other large cities, however, residential remains predominant: Genoa reaches 83%, followed by Naples and Palermo, while Florence stops at 55%.
This territorial divergence highlights how mortgage credit is taking on different roles depending on the context. In Milan, the mortgage instrument is now predominantly oriented towards business credit and non-residential investments. In other cities, however, it is still mainly linked to the purchase of a house and the refinancing operations of the family’s real estate assets.
A further element of analysis concerns the destination of the disbursed capital. In 2024, only 27% of the capital “extracted” through mortgages in large cities was reinvested in the real estate market (i.e. intended for the direct purchase of properties), compared to a national average of 35%. This means that more than two-thirds of urban mortgage credit is now used for purposes other than home purchases: refinancing, investments, liquidity for economic activities or development.
Also in this case, Milan has a strong impact on the overall data. Its high concentration of non-residential operations lowers the average of other cities. In fact, in contexts such as Genoa, Naples or Palermo, the share of capital actually allocated to the real estate market still exceeds 50%.
