Affordable homes: 48% of homes for sale in Italy cost less than 150,000 euros

Forty-eight per cent of the house listings for sale on idealista in Italy in the fourth quarter of 2023 were priced below €150,000, according to an analysis published by Italy's leading property portal, regarding the most affordable homes for future owners. Idealista's study highlighted the concentration of properties in the €150,000 bracket in each of Italy's 107 provinces and found that 75% of homes for sale were flats, while only the remaining 24% were detached or semi-detached houses.

The study also shows that most (84%) of the 'more affordable' homes for sale, according to their owners, are in good condition; in fact, only 16% of the stock is in need of renovation. The study also indicates the types of property broken down by the number of bedrooms available; most of the supply (51%) in this price bracket is represented by properties with three or more bedrooms; followed with 28% advertised as three-room apartments with two bedrooms, then two-room apartments with just one bedroom (17%) and finally studio apartments (2%), the least common typology which is more frequently found in urban and metropolitan contexts in Italy, such as Rome and Milan.

Affordable homes in Italy by province

The highest concentration of properties for sale below €150,000 is found in the province of Rome with 6.4%. This is followed by two other densely populated metropolitan areas such as Milan and Turin, with 4.4% and 3.4% respectively. In the top 10 we also find Pavia (2.8%) and some large Italian provinces such as Bergamo (2.6%), Catania (2.5%), Palermo (2.2%), then Alessandria, Varese (both with 2%) and Naples (1.8%). Ten provinces that together account for over 30% of the total offer.

The remaining two-thirds of supply is fragmented across 97 provinces, with variations ranging from 1.7% in Brescia and Perugia, down to 0.7% in Trieste and Nuoro. In Bolzano, the province with the highest house prices in Italy, with an average of 4,541 euro/m2, the supply of houses with sale prices below €150,000 is close to zero (only 0.3%).

Prevalence of flats for sale in Italy

In the main Italian provinces, flats prevail with 75% over detached or semi-detached houses. In the provinces of Milan, Monza Brianza, Livorno and Trieste this percentage is as high as 95%, while detached units account for only 5% of the total supply of properties for less than 150 thousand euro. In 54 other provinces there is a variation of 75% above the national figure, with values ranging from 91% in Florence to 76% in Ravenna.

The percentages gradually decrease in other areas, down to 48% recorded in Oristano. At a national level, detached houses represent only 14% of the total supply of properties under €150,000, although in some provinces such as Lecce (45%), Udine (42%) and Belluno (41%) they make up a significant part of those markets.

State of properties for sale in Italy

Another aspect highlighted by this analysis conducted by idealista concerns the state of the property. The category 'in good condition' prevails in all the provinces considered. The areas with the lowest percentage of affordable homes in need of renovation are Milan, Lodi and Monza-Brianza, all with 7%, followed by Bergamo (8%) and Rome (9%). Conversely, the provinces with the highest number of properties in need of renovation are Belluno, Trento and Lecce, all with 26% available.

Property sizes and price per m2

The housing market offers a variety of options reflecting the needs and preferences of buyers in different Italian provinces. By analysing the breakdown by type, one can gain insight into the real estate value of each area. For example, observing the data provided by idealista on the territorial distribution of property types, it emerges that in the provinces of Biella, Ragusa and Enna, where the price per square metre is relatively low, flats with larger sizes, such as four-room flats, are more common. On the contrary, in the more expensive areas, properties with fewer rooms such as three-room apartments, two-room apartments and even studio apartments are more common, reaching particularly high distribution peaks in Bolzano (15%), Aosta (11%), Imperia (10%), Milan and Trieste (8%), all areas where the price per square metre is quite high.

Returning to larger dwellings, in Rome, four-room flats account for 33% of the supply of homes under €150,000, while in the province of Milan, the availability of four-room flats is only 16%, i.e. the lowest value recorded nationally. Three-room apartments are the most common type in the provinces of Lodi (45%), Monza-Brianza, Bergamo, Lecco and Varese (41%). In Rome it represents 34% of the total offer; Milan and Naples follow with 33%. Moving on to smaller sizes such as two-room apartments, which tend to be more widespread in large centres, particularly in northern Italy, we note that the highest percentages of this type of apartment are found in the provinces of Milan (43%), Trieste (36%), and Monza-Brianza (34%). Quite high penetration percentages are also found in Bolzano (29%), Rome and Turin (both 28%).

Methodology

This data has been compiled and analysed by idealista/data, idealista's proptech, which provides information aimed at a professional audience to facilitate strategic decision-making in Spain, Italy and Portugal. It uses all the parameters of idealista's database in each country, as well as other public and private data sources, to offer valuation, investment, acquisition and market analysis services.

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