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 more rapidly.

If you are thinking of buying a house in Italy not for regular 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 holiday home: it can provide free accommodation for you, your family and friends and is supposed to maintain or increase in 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 only for investment: 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 for rent, you need to remember that rental rates and rental seasons are different depending on the region and 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 10-15% even in high season. The good news is that, due to the crisis, people prefer to rent a house for their holidays instead of a hotel room.

The most popular places were the 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 (Lakes Garda and Como). In addition, the Marche coast made 3%, as well as Catania, Syracuse and Trapani in Sicily (3%).

Let’s take a look at the 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
Salerno: 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