Will confident consumers protect Italian retail market rents?

The latest survey data from the ISAE show that Italian household confidence rose for the fifth consecutive month in August. On the face of it, this is encouraging news for the Italian retail commercial property market. However, we suspect that any positive impact from higher confidence on household consumption and retail occupier demand will be more than offset by the deteriorating labour market. Our forecasts still envisage that Italian retail rental values have some way to fall.