Housing is now increasingly sought outside the city, a trend that has long been evident in Italy's large urban areas and is also beginning to be seen in Olbia , where high prices, limited availability of properties, and difficulty accessing rentals are progressively widening the scope of residential demand.
Loiri Porto San Paolo, Telti, and Monti thus become alternatives for those who continue to work and have the city as their main point of reference, but are looking elsewhere for a home compatible with their needs and budget.
This is what emerges from the analysis by the Observatory of the Brili-Brilas real estate agency in Olbia , which compared the trend of the resident population in the municipalities in the Olbia area with the dynamics of the real estate market.
The residents
The resident population figures indicate that something is changing. Between 2022 and 2024 , Loiri Porto San Paolo grew from 3,689 to 3,800 inhabitants: 111 more residents, equal to a growth of 3.01% . Over the same period , Monti rose from 2,334 to 2,383 residents, an increase of 2.10%, while Telti went from 2,231 to 2,248 inhabitants, +0.76% . Overall, the three municipalities considered gained 177 inhabitants, but almost 63% of the net increase was concentrated in Loiri Porto San Paolo. An even more significant figure comes from Loiri itself: in 2025, the municipality declared it welcomed 68 new residents from Olbia. This number reinforces the indication of a progressive redistribution of the population in the area surrounding the city.
"We are witnessing an expansion of the Olbia residential market," explains Lino Mura, owner of the Brili-Brilas real estate agencies. "Administrative boundaries are increasingly less important in the choices of those looking for a home. You can live in Loiri or Telti and continue to work in Olbia, use the city's services every day, and maintain your economic and professional center essentially unchanged . The very concept of suburbia is changing." Loiri Porto San Paolo is the most obvious example of this: its proximity to Olbia, the port, and the airport allows you to live outside the city without sacrificing easy access to your workplace, services, and major infrastructure.
The attractiveness of an economically dynamic center, therefore, can also have positive effects on neighboring municipalities , offering new residential opportunities to areas that can thus capture some of the demand from the city. "Olbia remains the economic engine of this area, and its very strength can generate opportunities even beyond the municipal borders," concludes Lino Mura. "If living a few kilometers from the city allows you to continue working and maintain the same center of reference, the search for a home outside Olbia can also become an opportunity for neighboring municipalities. It's a dynamic that, over time, could help counteract the depopulation of smaller centers."
The real estate market
The real estate market is also at the root of this phenomenon. In recent years , home values in Olbia have risen significantly , while rising demand has been compounded by higher construction costs and, more generally, the costs associated with the production of new homes. For many families, especially those whose income is primarily from employment, the gap between spending power and asking prices has become considerable. Added to this is the issue of annual rents: the limited availability of apartments available for permanent rental makes the search for a home more complex for residents, workers, and families.
The tranquility of small towns
Then there is another aspect: after years in which living in the city centre represented an almost automatic advantage, a part of the real estate demand today attributes greater value to space, tranquility, the availability of outdoor areas and a less congested urban dimension.
(Unioneonline)