Hello everyone one this glorious weekend.

Not long got back from house hunting in Puglia, and what a wonderful place it is.

We stayed in the Cisternino area and it looks as though I'm twenty years too late, when I consider my budget that is.

So where would fellow Pugliese suggest we look next for more affordable properties. North of Bari, south of Lecce? Any where else?

Thank you.

Shame you didn't find anything you liked in the area but that's life I suppose. If you take the A14 north and turn on to the A16 heading towards Napoli, the very northern part of Puglia and inland a bit is quite different from the area you've just been in with gently rolling hills and fields of wheat, and much less in the way of olive plantations and probably almost nothing in the way of tourism or expats - it's very pretty and has always caught my eye whenever I've driven through it.

All the way up the A14 hugging the coast as it goes towards Molise is pretty much the same as what you've already seen although I wouldn't really recommend the areas around the outskirts of Foggia or Bari as they're too urban for me. Never been down around Lecce so I can't comment but I'm sure someone will come along who knows a bit more about it. I've heard it's quite nice down around gallipolli way but again I'm only speculating as I've never been that far south.

I guess it's all down to personal preference and what you're looking for but I wouldn't give up on the area so quickly as the property prices tend to be arbitrary according to how greedy a particular seller is, and you're just as likely to find something you like which is in your price range as not if you look hard enough....

It might also be worth trying the Gargano area which I believe is a national park. Again I've never spent time there personally but from the A14 you can see it as a miniature mountainous region in the north of Puglia and as with my earlier suggestion it always catches my eye when I'm driving down.. According to the wikipedia description it still has some ancient oak and beech forest up there too...

Gargano, it is a beautiful area. We are near Mattinata, a small town near the coast with olives and backed by mountains.
The whole area is a national park.

Excellent responses, thank you both, should keep me busy for a while.

Yeah, sorry Jake, I guess I'm looking for something............well, I don't know what I'm looking for in all honesty, I suppose I'll know when I see it!

Hello,

HousePuglia.com Have a couple of properties I'd like to have a look at, does anyone have any experience of this company?

Or indeed any other estate agents in Puglia.

Thanks.

You pay a premium to live in Puglia. Try Basilicata, just next door!

Hello Accetturese, I keep dipping in and out of online searches into Basilicata but it appears to have a disproportionately smaller volume of properties for sale?

Can you rec. an agent?

Sorry, I wouldn't know where to begin on the agent front.
The population of Basilicata has been in decline now for many years, so there are a lot of properties sitting empty.

I've been hearing the same about Puglia for many a year now too. It seems that the youngsters perfect idyll is a flat in the city with a 9-5 and no nasty land to have to work like a dog for little reward... all a matter of perspective I suppose and probably a cyclic phenomenon ...their kids will be desperate to get back to the land in 25 years time...

Casa Puglia (Johan Zetterberg) based in Fasano are excellent Casapuglia – Inspirational Homes in Puglia Listings

Thanks Millpond.

Also whilst I'm here, we're off to Puglia again in a few weeks and have arranged to see a number of properties. Should I be tempted to make an offer or worse still get the credit card out for a deposit, what would the experience of BE members be, a good rule of thumb regards pricing offers?

My instinct, giving the current market conditions, would be to lowball really ugly, for example on a £150,000 I'm looking at a £100,000 take it or leave it approach? Of course, lots of if's and and's and pots and pans to bear in mind, but in general is 25-30% reduction on asking prices feasible in Puglia?

Cheers.

I would say anywhere in Italy it is feasible, but you also could risk someone telling you where to go and not come back. So be careful if it is a place you like

Not sure about the prices, though Polignano a Mare is super beautiful place!

From living here for the last 12+ years, I would say very few Italians are likely to budge on price. I know some places that have been for sale every since we moved here, with the owners not prepared to lower the price. Possibly if you get an Ex Pat desparate to sell they may be prepared to negotiate, but I know a lot of them are trying to sell too, without much success.