When my son, he was two years old, was sitting on the toilet at the house of friends of my parents and looking out the toilet window over the estate, he asked the owner who accompanied him: Do you really need all this? Yes, good question and my father's friend answered in all honesty: No, I don't really need any of this.

Now I must confess that as I get older I too feel more and more that possession is something I should try to limit. Only the bare essentials and that is already enough to worry about. A bit of a strange contradiction because of course I often have to deal with clients looking for a second home and after all who am I with my feelings about property in general. Every time I enthusiastically think along with my customers and try to provide them with the best possible service. Because I recognise that feeling of longing for a home in Italy all too well! It's even worse: in the summer months, when I'm in Marotta or in Roseto degli Abruzzi, it starts to itch for me again…just an apartment on the coast? Doesn't have to be big, really. As long as it has a little balcony, as long as I can see, smell and feel the sea. Have a nice breakfast in the bar around the corner, walk along the boulevard, just cross the road and immediately be on the beach where the bathman knows you of course. Eating fish in one of the many restaurants, having a siesta after lunch… well, not bad at all. The itch may represent the desire for relaxation. And we all need relaxation. So I will happily continue to promote buying a second home, because I do understand…