Real estate wealth: the real value, not the perceived one

An honest overview of your properties: cadastral data, weight on your overall wealth and real net return, separating concrete opportunities from sentimental value.

In short

  • Every property has three distinct values — cadastral, market and sentimental — and confusing them leads to poor decisions.
  • The net return of a rental, after costs and taxes, is typically lower than the gross return you read in the listing.
  • In Italian households real estate has historically accounted for over half of overall wealth: a concentration worth checking.
  • We analyse value, return and portfolio weighting together, including in view of a future succession.

What are a property's three values?

The cadastral value is the one used to calculate certain taxes, and is often very far from real market value. Market value is what the property would fetch if sold today, estimated from comparable transactions in the same area. Sentimental value — the family home, the memories tied to a place — is legitimate, but should be kept separate from the other two when making wealth decisions: confusing it with market value often leads to overvaluing a property or delaying decisions that would otherwise make sense.

Why does net return matter more than gross?

A rented property seems to return whatever the rent divided by the property's value suggests, but that calculation is incomplete. You need to subtract management costs, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance, any vacant periods and taxes — the flat-rate tax at 21% on free-market leases, 10% on agreed-rent leases. The real net return, what actually ends up in your pocket, is the figure worth reasoning on when comparing a property with other forms of investment.

How much does real estate weigh on your overall wealth?

In Italian households real estate has historically accounted for over half of overall wealth, a higher share than the average in many other European countries. A high concentration in a single asset, however solid, reduces available liquidity and the ability to diversify — an issue that becomes critical precisely when liquid resources are needed, such as during a succession.

Who it is for

When is it worth reviewing your real estate?

These are the situations where a property's value stops being something taken for granted.

You have inherited one or more properties

Value and return have not yet been checked, and management needs to be organised from scratch.

You have a vacant property

It has sat empty for a while, and it is not clear whether renting, renovating or selling makes sense.

You are weighing whether to sell

You want to know whether the current return justifies keeping it, or whether it makes sense to sell and reinvest.

You are planning succession

You want to know whether your heirs will have the liquidity to handle taxes and transfers tied to your properties.

What changes in practice

Four numbers for a clear view of real estate

3 The values to keep distinct: cadastral, market and sentimental
2-4% The typical net return of a residential rental, after management costs and taxes
21% / 10% The flat-rate tax on free-market leases and on agreed-rent leases
>50% The historically majority share of Italian household wealth invested in real estate
How we work

From land registry to scenario, in five steps

  1. 01

    We gather the land registry records

    Cadastral data and the formal status of each property, to start from a verified basis.

  2. 02

    We estimate market value

    Based on comparable transactions in the area, not on an impression or an outdated figure.

  3. 03

    We calculate net return

    Net of management costs, maintenance, vacancy and taxes, if the property is or could be rented out.

  4. 04

    We check its weight in your wealth

    How much real estate counts on your overall wealth, and whether it is a concentration worth balancing.

  5. 05

    We build the scenarios

    Keep, rent or sell: concrete figures for each route, not just generic pointers.

The mistakes we see most often

Three ways real estate risk gets underestimated

Confusing gross and net return

Rent divided by the property's value tells only half the story: without subtracting costs and taxes, the real return is often much lower.

Forgetting management costs and vacancy

Maintenance, condominium fees and periods with no tenant erode the return quietly but continuously, if they are not budgeted for from the start.

Underestimating illiquidity at succession

Wealth concentrated in property can leave heirs without the liquidity to pay inheritance tax within the required deadlines.

How much does your rented property really return? Our simulator calculates the real net return of a rental, after management costs and taxes, so you can compare it against other forms of investment.
Go to the simulator →
Frequently asked questions

What we are asked most often

Less than the gross return you see at first glance. From the rent you need to subtract management costs, maintenance, any vacant periods and taxes — the flat-rate tax on rent is 21% for free-market leases, 10% for agreed-rent leases. The real net return, typically in the region of 2-4% for a residential property, is the figure worth reasoning on, not the gross one.
We start from the cadastral data to check the property's formal consistency, then compare its value against comparable transactions in the same area. The result is a realistic estimate of market value, distinct both from cadastral value — often far from real prices — and from the sentimental value a family attaches to the property.
It depends on the real net return compared with alternative investments, the weight the property has on your overall wealth, and its future liquidity, especially from a succession standpoint. There is no answer that fits everyone: we build the scenarios together — keep, rent, sell — with concrete figures for each.
In Italian households real estate has historically accounted for over half of overall wealth, a higher share than the average in many other European countries. A high concentration in a single asset reduces available liquidity and the ability to diversify: we check your specific weighting and whether it makes sense to rebalance it.
Property is illiquid by nature: if wealth is concentrated in homes and land, heirs may not have the liquidity to pay inheritance tax within the deadlines, or may have to sell quickly on unfavourable terms. Checking the weight and liquidity of real estate in good time is part of serious succession planning.

Didn't find your question? Write to us directly — we answer personally.

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Your contact for real estate wealth

Giulio Salvador
Contact

Let's talk over a coffee

The first meeting is about getting to know each other, with no commitment. Write to us or stop by our office in Vittorio Veneto.

Office
Via delle Terme 2, 31029 Vittorio Veneto (TV), Italy
Phone
+39 327 558 4213
Email
vittorioveneto.p13@allianzbankfa.it
Opening hours
9:30 – 12:30
15:00 – 18:30