Top Voices in Luxury Real Estate: @Paolo Del Chicca Immobiliare, Tuscany, Italy
Name: Paolo Del Chicca
Title: Real Estate Agent Since 1974
Experience: Luxury Properties
Location: Livorno And Western Tuscany
Company Name: Paolo Del Chicca Immobiliare
Team Size: 6
1) Talk to us about your early days in real estate: How did you get your start in Luxury real estate?
My agency, founded by my father in 1956, has always stood out for dealing above all with medium/high-level properties in the city area. I lived several years in Brazil between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where I frequented high society, and I was able to appreciate the sumptuous local houses. In these circles, speaking of my region of origin, I have always found strong appreciation for Tuscany and for the beautiful properties found there. This meant that on my return to Italy I decided to concentrate my agency business on prestigious properties, such as historic villas, beautiful farmhouses and farm/wine estates, of which our magnificent region is rich, and the success and the fame that I have earned over the years is the confirmation that my intuition had proved successful.
2) Tell us something more about your passions and lifestyle
One of my passions is sport, since I have always practiced activities such as tennis, squash, windsurfing, basketball, and I also deeply love the sea in all its forms.
I am also very passionate about travel, and over the years I have visited the most important cities in the world, always with an eye towards architectural beauties, culture, museums, and local history in
general.
I have always liked to follow fashion in terms of clothing and accessories, and every season I never fail to renew my wardrobe, always giving a touch of personality and originality to what I wear.
In particular, I have an immoderate passion for shoes, watches and tie pins, of which I can boast a refined collection.
Finally, I am a passionate reader, both of novels and history books, and the curiosity that distinguishes me leads me to try to be constantly updated on everything.
3) What was your first sale ever? And the most important (your breakthrough sale) ?
My first sale was when I was very young. I accompanied a client from outside Livorno to see an uninhabited apartment in my city, of which I had the keys and which I had already seen internally anyway. When we got to the floor, strangely the keys didn’t open and therefore I was unable to show the house. Since the customer then had to leave and didn’t know when he could come back to visit it, but had an urgent need to buy, I described it to him in detail, personally guaranteeing that the description was faithful and truthful, and this customer trusted me to such an extent that he bought the house without seeing it!
The sale that has given me the most satisfaction is that of Marcello Mastroianni’s villa with descent to the sea in Castiglioncello, the renowned tourist resort south of Livorno.
In addition of course to the satisfaction of having sold this beautiful and prestigious property, I am particularly proud of how I conducted the negotiation. At one point, in fact, during the visit, the future buyer commented that there were also other villas for sale with access to the sea on the market, and that this one was a bit expensive.
I promptly replied that this was Marcello Mastroianni’s villa, not just any villa, and if he had bought it he could have boasted to friends and colleagues around the world of being the owner of Mastroianni’s villa, not to mention when he would receive them as guests in the villa… having said that, he bought the villa without further hesitations!
4) Knowing that you are a Top Voices in Luxury real estate what do you consider to be a new tendency that is influencing your market ?
In our market, the top trend is the purchase of a villa with access to the sea, an infinity pool
overlooking the sea and the park, or the purchase of an estate / farm, where you can produce wine
and oil with your own label.
5) What’s the current state of the market in your area? What is your top prediction for 2023 ?
The situation is not easy to understand, partly due to the war in Ukraine, partly due to the rise in mortgage rates and the rise in restructuring costs, and therefore making predictions is not easy.
However, there is still a high level of interest both nationally and from foreigners in luxury properties, to be purchased as holiday homes and future residences.
6) 3 things that differentiate you and your company ?
My agency stands out for the name of the company, well known in the sector, for the history we have behind us, and for the high professionalism and experience acquired over the years.
We are also particularly known for having carved out a respectable space for ourselves in the luxury properties market, and in any case important properties.
We pay extreme care and attention to the selection of the properties whose sale we negotiate, analyzing in advance all the relative documentation, because we want that when a negotiation is opened, there are no hitches due to problems with the property.
We therefore prefer to work hard and well before setting a property up for sale, for the peace of mind of the seller and the buyer, and above all so as not to have to work unnecessarily afterwards.
Foreigners are generally very selective in their choice of home, and before embarking on a journey to come to Italy, they want all possible information, such as photos, videos, floor plans, exact location, etc. However, when they come later to view a property, if they like the property and the agency has worked well, having previously provided truthful information, they buy immediately as soon as the visit is over.
7) What is the profile of the luxury buyers in your market and from where do they come from?
About 40% of our clients are foreigners, and generally they are families who intend to buy beautiful properties that are initially intended as a holiday home, but which in the future can also be used as a main residence.
In fact, we must not forget that our magnificent region, Tuscany, has everything one could wish for to live well: a mild climate, a splendid sea, with a coast with beaches and cliffs, rich in both fashionable places and reserved corners, wonderful islands, cities of art among the most famous in the world, medieval villages, a countryside that is a global icon, mountains for skiing, all enclosed in just 2 hours by car!
8) What is your top tip for freshly licensed agents ?
For a new agent, in addition to being serious, polite and personable, the best tip I can give is to take great care of public relations and devote himself as much as possible to acquiring new customers and especially properties to sell, because if you doesn’t have a beautiful and valid product, even with all the capabilities you can be equipped with, you would not sell anything.
Know someone who should be featured in an upcoming Top Voices in Luxury Real Estate? Please, send me a request to cassiano@221luxury.com