Housing market activity jumps in Italy

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - House buying and selling rose in the third quarter of 2014, with a jump of almost 19% in Rome and Bologna while Florence saw an increase of 23%, the Italian revenue agency reported Thursday.
    It said that between July and September, many major cities saw increases in activity, including a 10.4% rise in Genoa, 8.9% in Palermo and a 7.3% increase in Naples.
    Overall, the real estate market rose by 3.6% in Italy in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2013 with almost 207,000 transactions reported.
    The revenue agency said that the national housing market gained 4.1% in the third quarter, the market for shops jumped by 9%, and the only dark cloud appeared in the office market, which slipped by 2.0%.
    The positive report comes amid continued recession in Italy's economy that has triggered a long period of a sluggish real estate trading.
    It also follows an almost steady stream of negative real estate market reports.