New Toscano agency in Udine, Borgo Aquileia

Following the Udine Nord agency, business partners Alfonso Farinaro, Alex Verin and Jacopo Verin open Borgo Aquileia.

Alfonso Farinaro, real estate broker of the new Toscano Borgo Aquileia agency in Udine, talks about the journey he has built together with his business partners Alex Verin and Jacopo Verin. Following their experience in Pordenone and the opening of Udine Nord, they are expanding the Group’s network in the city with a second affiliated agency.

Let’s start with your journey: how did you enter the real estate sector, and how have your experience and those of Alex and Jacopo intertwined over time within the Toscano network?

I started working as a real estate agent in 2017, at Alex and Jacopo’s Toscano agency in Pordenone, which had opened shortly before.

Before that, I was doing something completely different: I had just finished my studies and a friend got me involved, almost just to give it a try. From that moment on, I never left this sector.

As I grew professionally, so did my desire to take on new and more ambitious projects. Thanks also to the encouragement of Alex and Jacopo, in 2022 we opened the Udine Nord agency together. Today, we are continuing our entrepreneurial journey with a second affiliated agency in the city, in Borgo Aquileia.

What role have Alex and Jacopo played in your journey, and how important do you think it is to work in an environment that encourages people to grow?

Alex and Jacopo have always been great motivators, encouraging people to grow, but naturally there also has to be a willingness on the other side to put oneself to the test.

Today, I try to do the same with my team in Udine. We are constantly evolving and want to progressively expand our presence, opening new affiliated agencies and building an increasingly widespread network across the city.

This growth also depends on developing people. How have you organized the new Borgo Aquileia agency?

We have entrusted the development of the Borgo Aquileia agency to our Sales Manager, Simone Iellen. This decision was also linked to the results he has achieved: in 2025, he ranked among the top ten in Italy in the Toscano Golden Domus ranking.

For him, this is a further opportunity for growth, allowing him to learn how to manage a team and experience client relationships from a new perspective. The goal is to build a genuine entrepreneurial path together that can eventually lead him to open a new affiliated agency as a business partner.

Our team is already well structured. At Udine Nord, we have several team members, and to accelerate the development of Borgo Aquileia, we decided to transfer some of them to the new office.

Over these four years, a very strong relationship has developed among all of us: we support and motivate one another.

Which elements of the Group have helped you most in structuring and developing your business over time?

Being part of a structured Group allows us to move more quickly in the market. We have access to continuous training, technology, tools and an established operating method on which we have built our business.

It is a constantly evolving system that allows us to quickly learn about and adopt new solutions and technological tools. As an independent professional, it would be much more complex to find and integrate all of this at the same speed.

Naturally, the Group provides the method and tools, but it is then up to us as brokers to embrace them and adapt them to the characteristics of the local area in which we operate, so that they can be truly effective.

And how do you pass this method on to the people who join your team?

When someone approaches this profession for the first time, perhaps through an internship, I try to involve them directly in daily activities and let them closely observe the way I work.

During the three-month internship, new team members are never left on their own. This is also why I prefer to bring in one person at a time: it requires more time, but it allows me to support them more closely, teach them the method and create the conditions for them to build their own professional path over time.

For your second opening in Udine, you chose Borgo Aquileia. What opportunities did you identify in this area, and what convinced you to invest here?

Udine is a geographically extensive city. Our project is to progressively establish a presence across its different areas and, with the opening of Borgo Aquileia, strengthen our presence in the southern part of the city.

We already knew the area very well because we were operating here even before the agency opened. Borgo Aquileia went through some challenging years, but today we see a dynamic, evolving market with a good level of sales activity.

An important factor has been the redevelopment of the existing housing stock: in recent years, several investors have purchased apartments to renovate and subsequently resell. This dynamic continues to characterize the neighborhood and contributed to our decision to establish a permanent presence in this part of the city.

Operating in both Udine Nord and Borgo Aquileia gives you a broad view of the city. How do demand and property types differ between the various areas?

Demand is quite diversified. In the northern area, the average purchase value is higher and residential demand prevails, mainly linked to primary residences. In the southern part, on the other hand, the investment component is more significant.

The most sought-after property types are two-room and three-room apartments.

The market consists predominantly of existing properties, although interest in renovated homes is growing: more and more people are looking for move-in-ready solutions, but supply is still limited.

In Borgo Aquileia, this trend is particularly evident because several properties purchased by investors have been renovated and subsequently put back on the market as turnkey homes.

Looking at the city as a whole, condominium apartments prevail in the North, Center and South areas, while villas and detached properties become more common in the outer areas, chosen by those looking for greater comfort and privacy.

How much do the location and condition of a property affect its value?

Both aspects have a significant impact. In our experience, location carries greater weight, which we can estimate at around 60%, while the remaining 40% is related to the condition of the property.

Naturally, the two factors can work together: a good location continues to play a decisive role, but today the condition of the home is also increasingly important for buyers looking for efficient, move-in-ready properties.

Since 2022, when Udine Nord opened, what changes have you observed in buyer behavior and market trends?

Today, I see a faster-moving market and clients who want to complete transactions more quickly. In my experience, the proportion of transactions involving a mortgage has also decreased.

Buyers expect the process to be as straightforward as possible, with fully compliant properties and, increasingly, homes that are already move-in ready. In general, attention to property quality has increased, while values have remained substantially stable.

After Borgo Aquileia, what are your next development goals?

We are already evaluating other areas of Udine in which to expand over the coming years. The goal is to establish an increasingly widespread presence throughout the city.

We are paying particular attention to the eastern area, where the market has a greater presence of detached properties and attracts residential clients primarily looking for comfort and privacy.