Marcello Mastroianni: for sale his farmhouse in Tuscany

Chiara and Barbara Mastroiani, daughters of the unforgettable Italian star of La Dolce Vita have decided to sell the Tuscan property of the family.

Marcello Mastroianni

Is for sale on the real estate website Immobiliare.it the Tuscan house of Marcello Mastroianni.

It is a farmhouse which has a total area of about 2,000 square meters and is located in Pescaglia, in the province of Lucca.

Mastroianni bought the house in 1974 and he used to spend his holidays at this property in the company of not only the family but also the most famous names of the star system in those years.

Madonna has sold her New York apartment at a cut price

The property was purchased by the manager Deepak Narula for $ 19.5 million, a decline of 15% compared to the pop star initial request

The Madonna apartment in New York city

New York - In November last year, Madonna had put for sale her apartment in New York, but without receiving purchase orders for the set amount: $ 23.5 million. The property, that is on two floors overlooking Central Park, it was finally bought - as reported by the Wall Street Journal - from the manager Deepak Narula for $ 19.5 million, a cut of 15% compared to the American star initial request.

The apartment is located at the top at 41 Central Park West and it is not the first time that Madonna was trying to sell it. The star had already tried in 1996, but at that time the house had been withdrawn from the market because there was no available buyers to negotiate.

Crisis can be overcome with the energetic rehabilitation of the houses

Legambiente: "Is it possible to activate 3 billion euro of investments and 120,000 jobs per year"

Rome - The crisis can be overcome by the eco-renovation of houses and buildings thanks to which, according to Legambiente "can be activated 3 billion euro of investments and 120.000 jobs per year". For this reason, the Italian environmental organization has proposed - during a conference organized together with AzzeroCo2 - "a new system of incentives for energy improvement that allows to halve fuel consumption in the condo buildings".

"In light of the current situation emerges," according to Legambiente, "the need for new policies that may trigger a widespread  upgrading of the energy efficiency in buildings". With an eye especially for apartment buildings, where live about 24 million people in Italy and where very often the energy consumption are higher than the already high national average, especially if built after the 50's. According to estimates by Istat and Cresme, exists more than one million buildings with more than five rooms in which there is a condominium management. And, unfortunately for those who live there, hopes to reduce spending on energy bills are very few, given that the existing mechanisms are ineffective and often impossible to implement".

The aim of Legambiente is an average reduction of 50% of the housing consumption, certified by skipping energy class; based on a simulation carried out on condos in Milan, Rome and Bari average return through incentives varies between 31 and 36%, there would be a benefit in the bill and in the comfort both winter and summer, in addition, depending on the intervention, there could be a reduction in heating bills by about 50% within a maximum of 11 years for an amount that varies between 800 and 1300 euro per year.

The eclipse of real estate

Is the end near?

In the first quarter of 2012, direct investments in real estate in the world fell by 21% compared to the same period last year. The data have been published by the Consulting Agency Jones Lang Lasalle; the flow of global capital allocated to the sector decreased despite only in the USA there has been a 

+25% and +52% in Canada in the year. Poor performances for Europe, Asia and Middle East.

According to Juan Manuel Ortega, director of capital markets for Jones Lang Lasalle Spain, "this year will be dominated by the reactions of governments

Unrestored homes purchase +83%. Fashion is a ruin

The new trend of real estate, ruined houses for a market in crisis

They are called fixer-upper, more commonly slums, houses in poor condition sometimes to be rebuilt almost from scratch are the latest trend when it comes to real estate in New York.

The trend is becoming increasingly popular due to the decline of the houses on the market and lower prices of the houses in ruins, convenient despite the costs that the restructuring.

Jonathan Miller, head of the real estate firm Miller Samuel, told the New York Times that the purchase of housing conditions as "poor or very poor" rose in the City by 83% from December 2011 to December 2012.

"The properties for sale in Manhattan fell by 34% from the fourth quarter of 2011 - said Miller - touching its lowest level for 12 years now, and that's why those who want to buy a home has become more flexible."

The Italian real estate market crisis, merciless numbers

Translation of an interesting article from the Italian web based newspaper Nove da Firenze .

The figures released by FIAIP are really discouraging: in Italy in the period 2007-2012 real estate sales were down by as much as 40%. In the past year house prices also showed a decrease of 12% (25% if we compare the average prices of the previous year with those of 2008.).

And common clichés that keep the industry afloat we have thought in the past few years the only luxury properties, and this both in Italy and internationally.

According to the findings in the recent MEETIN - a real estate meeting in Naples, for example, this assumption seems confirmed in the Southern Italy.

Greece for sales: Athens sells 28 public buildings

Among the buildings, offices of ministries, public bodies and the police headquarters.

After months of unnecessary delay, which among other things are often caused irritation of the representatives of the international creditors of Greece, the National Agency for the Promotion of Property of the State (Taiped, privatization agency), has announced yesterday the international tender for the sale and leaseback by the state, 28 state-owned buildings that are now offices of government departments, public bodies and even the police headquarters in Athens.

Properties for sale will be divided into two groups of 14 properties each, while the total rents that derive, according to the Taiped, will amount to approximately 30 million euro per year. The time for submission of tenders from interested parties expires next April 19.