The cost to buy a home in Italy is $378,000, on average, for a 2,000-sq-ft house, according to the latest My Dolce Casa real estate report. By comparison, the median price of a home in the US is $420,800 according to the St. Louis Fed.
The national average price of real estate in Italy is heavily influenced by expensive areas like Milan, Venice, or the region of Trentino-Alto Adige. You can find affordably-priced houses in most of the country and especially in the central and southern regions of Italy.
Whether you’re an aspiring expatriate looking to embrace the Italian lifestyle or simply curious about the real estate landscape in Italy, this article will help you better understand how much it costs to purchase a villa in each of Italy’s regions and its 30 largest cities.
Real estate in Italy: Market overview
In 2015, the market in Italy had a major recession, when real estate prices peaked. Prices dropped dramatically by 2019 and have been relatively stable ever since. This year, property prices are only about 2% more expensive than they were last year.
The modest property price increases of recent years generally indicate that, currently, buying a house in Italy is not a very profitable investment, rather a lifestyle choice.
So, if you have the money for a home in Italy and want to live in the country long term, it is a great idea to look at property, because homes in Italy are still reasonably priced compared to real estate in Spain, France or Portugal, for example, which have seen much higher rises in the cost to buy a home in the past few years.
How much is a house in each of Italy’s 20 regions?
Like most countries, housing prices hugely fluctuate based on their region. In general, the further north you go in Italy, the more expensive the real estate is. The most expensive region is Trentino-Alto Adige, the area bordering Switzerland and Austria, followed by Aosta Valley, a region just east of the French border.
Here’s how much it costs on average to buy a house in Italy by region:
Abruzzo $244,000
Aosta Valley $552,000
Basilicata $242,000
Calabria $186,000
Campania $336,000
Emilia-Romagna $378,000
Friuli-Venezia Giulia $296,000
Lazio $436,000
Liguria $510,000
Lombardy $448,000
Marche $316,000
Molise $182,000
Piedmont $260,000
Puglia $254,000
Sardinia $332,000
Sicily $212,000
Tuscany $478,000
Trentino-Alto Adige $634,000
Umbria $218,000
Veneto $370,000
On the other hand, Molise is the cheapest region in Italy. This is a small region mostly made up of mountains and the Abruzzo National Park which is perhaps known for its part in the 1 euro home project to help small Italian towns fight depopulation.
Among the most expensive regions to buy a home in Italy is the popular Tuscany, as well as Liguria, home to the famous Italian Riviera. On the other hand, you can find cheaper houses in many beautiful Italian regions such as Piedmont, Puglia or Umbria.
The most expensive cities in Italy
If you’re looking to buy a home in Italy, the most desirable areas, or at least in many people’s opinions, are often the most expensive. Milan, often considered the country’s economic capital, is the most expensive city in Italy. Venice and Florence round up the top 3 places with the priciest homes.
The top 10 most expensive cities to buy real estate in Italy
- Milan $1,020,000
- Venice $912,000
- Florence $834,000
- Bologna $706,000
- Rome $618,000
- Trento $612,000
- Siena $604,000
- Sesto-San Giovanni $590,000
- Sanremo $586,000
- Viareggio $584,000
The most affordable cities in Italy
If you’re looking to own a home in Italy but need to do so on a budget, you’ll probably want to avoid the cities mentioned so far. In general, the cheapest cities to live in are in the south, specifically in Calabria and Sicily. On average, a house in Reggio Calabria is the cheapest of all 30 largest cities, Taranto in Puglia comes in second and Messina in Sicily in third place.
The top 10 cities with the cheapest real estate in Italy
- Ragusa $154,000
- Lamezia Terme $156,000
- Vittoria $168,000
- Reggio Calabria $174,000
- Alessandria $178,000
- Trapani $178,000
- Marsala $182,000
- Taranto $192,000
- Catanzaro $196,000
- Terni $202,000
Here’s what it costs to buy a house in Italy’s 30 largest cities
Wherever you’re looking to live in Italy, somewhere near the sea or deep in the snowy mountains, affordable homes for any budget or luxury move-in ready homes in a major metropolis, there is a home somewhere in the country for you.
Methodology:
- When using or citing this data, please give credit to My Dolce Casa by linking to this report
- Italy home price data source: Idealista.it valid as of the date of this report
- United States home price data source: St. Louis Federal Bank valid as of the date of this report
- Original prices published in euros per square meter
- Euros converted to U.S. dollars at an exchange rate valid as of the date of this report
- Square meters converted to square feet
- The average price of a 2,000 square foot home was calculated by multiplying the price per square foot in USD by 2,000
