(ANSA) - Rome, May 4 - Home mortgages in Italy rose by 50.4% in value during the first three months of 2015 compared with the same period last year, the Italian Banking Association(ABI) reported on Monday.
    Home loans issued from January to March signaled "strong recovery" in the market, the group said.
    That news comes after years of throttled mortgage credit and real estate market doldrums since the onset of the global financial crisis. Mortgages in the first quarter of 2015 amounted to 7.9 billion euros, compared to 5.2 billion euros in the same period of 2014, said ABI.
    This year's total also exceeded the first quarters of 2013 and 2012, when Italy suffered a severe second dip in its double-dip recession since 2008.
    ABI said it polled 78 banks that represent 80% of the Italian banking market for its report.