Italy housing plan on track, credit woes remain, says Assoimmobiliare's Tamburini

The Italian government's e7bn national housing plan to support low-income residential development is a move in the right direction, but the credit channel continues to hamper stability in both the residential and commercial property sectors, says Gualtiero Tamburini, president of Italian real estate association Assoimmobiliare. He told the Expo Italia Real Estate portal that the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is aware Italy needs new industrial policies to help the economic recovery take root amid the economic crisis, and the housing plan is part of this. "But we have an even greater need for financial interventions and energy certification adjustment policies to freshen up overall economic functioning," Tamburini said. "Right now, the sector is being heavily penalised by the contraction of credit supply, which is essential for real estate operations of every kind... To get back to normal, economic policies need to restore basic levels of trust and confidence, and it seems the government is preparing to do this." The housing plan, unveiled last August, involves construction of 20,000 new homes. Rome has earmarked e7bn for new homes for low-income families, with annual rents as low as e300 for a 50-sq.m. apartment.