If you are looking to buy a house in Italy or are deciding to move here, perhaps to spend a peaceful retirement as many expats do, it will certainly be useful for you to know which locations are the priciest and which are the most affordable in the ‘Bel Paese’, a fitting name for this beautiful and resourceful nation.
Italy is a country with a very diverse territory, both in terms of natural and cultural attractions and in the housing offer. You can find splendid historical residences, magnificent villas with swimming pools and large flats with all comforts, but also rural houses and small apartments. Moreover, prices vary considerably depending on the location.
Before buying a house in Italy or deciding to move here, you should also carefully plan the financial aspects. For example, it is good to understand how much it may cost to live in Italy, what differences there are between one area and another and where you can find the best deals on buying a house.
Here is a journey through the most expensive and cheapest places to find a home in Italy.
Most expensive areas to buy a home in Italy
Although Italy is one of the cheapest countries in Europe, it is good to know that, on average, each person will spend around EUR 1600 per month on rent, shopping, transport and entertainment. In some regions, such as Lombardy, these prices go up. Milan, for example, offers a price per square meter around to EUR 11,148, while Rome has an average of EUR 7,985 per square meters in the city center. Of course, Venice could not miss in the ranking with its 6,328 euro per square meter if you want to buy a flat in St. Mark’s Square, right in the heart of the city.
In the ranking of the most expensive places in Italy where to buy a home, right after Posillipo, a fashionable area of Naples with beautiful seaside villas and palaces with every comfort, there is Florence, especially if you are looking for flats in the Santa Croce area. In this beautiful city of art, you can pay around EUR 5,214 per square meter. For this reason, many people prefer to move to the surrounding area where it is possible to buy real estate in Tuscany Italy at more favorable prices.
The Chianti area, for example, is a rural area where the lush vegetation and extensive vineyards attract many foreigners, so much so that it is called ‘Chiantishire’ due to the presence of many British expats. Even here, however, despite some villages where prices tend downwards, a good budget is necessary.
And which are the cheapest ones?
After knowing which areas in Italy are the most expensive to buy a house, here we come to the ranking of the cheapest places.
The cheapest places to buy a house are almost all in the South of Italy. For example, Calabria, where the price per square meter is around 852 euro, or Molise, a little further north, where you can get great deals at 874 euro/m2.
Even in Sicily, a stunning island that is very popular, especially for summer holidays, you can buy houses for less than 1,000 euro/m2.
And what about for those who love the mountains? The Italian property market is able to satisfy everyone and, in fact, in Trentino-Alto Adige and Valle d’Aosta you have to spend a little more, around 2,500 euro per square meter, but less than in other locations in northern Italy.
