Italy is one of the most popular countries where British and Americans (but not only) prefer to buy a house as an investment.

House prices, rental costs and return on investment are very different depending on the region where the house is located.

Tuscany and Umbria are the most famous Italian regions for real estate investments. In recent years, the price of housing in these areas, within Liguria and the main cities (Florence, Rome, Milan and Venice), has increased faster.

If you are thinking of buying a house in Italy not for your normal use but, for example, as a holiday home, you are in a position to benefit from a tangible return on your investment.

These are the main types of investment properties:
– a vacation home: it can provide free accommodation for you, your family and friends and is supposed to maintain or increase its value.
– a house for your children and relatives: this can also increase in value and can also be rented out when not in use, to generate income
– a commercial property: it can be an office, a shop or even a private house used as a bed and breakfast
– a property purchased for investment only: it can be a capital investment or provide a regular income

Keep in mind that a real estate investment must be considered in the medium or long term (around 10 or 15 years). You should consider that properties are not as safe as houses and investments can be risky in the short and medium term.

In addition, you must also take into account the Income Tax of the owners. We will talk about it in our next post. When buying a house to rent, you must remember that rental rates and rental seasons are different depending on the region and the city.

Let’s look at some data* on rental prices in the summer of 2010.

Last August there were no vacancies, but rental prices dropped by 10-15% even in high season. The good news is that, due to the crisis, people prefer to rent a house for their vacations instead of a hotel room.

The most popular places were coastal cities such as: Puglia (Gallipoli), Tuscany (Grosseto coast, Castiglione della Pescaia, Orbetello, Follonica, San Casciano, Arezzo countryside) and Emilia-Romagna (Adriatic Riviera) in the lead (16% each) . It is followed by Sardinia with 13% of the requests concentrated between the La Maddalena archipelago, the Doria valley and the Cagliari coast. With 6% we find Liguria (Sanremo and Ventimiglia), Calabria (Diamante and Lamezia Terme Coast) and Abruzzo (Alba Adriatica, Montesilvano, Francavilla). 5% Lombardy (Garda and Como lakes). In addition, the Marche coast made 3%, as well as Catania, Siracusa and Trapani in Sicily (3%).

Let’s take a look at rental prices now.

Average house rental prices
Prices per person/per day in Euros in August
Trapani (Sicily coast): 28.70
Massa Carrara (Tuscan coast): 25.30
Grosseto (Tuscan coast): 35.40
Salem: 35.50
Palermo: 30.90
Rome: 32.70
Venice: 36.90
Catania: 28.00
Lecce (Puglia coast): 30.00
Sardinia: 37.00
Geneva: 27.70
Italy: 32.20