The short answer: for the most home per euro, look at Calabria, Molise, Sicily and Umbria. Average asking prices there run from €972 to €1,193 per m², against an Italian average of €2,217 (Immobiliare.it, September 2026). If you want a famous name for less, look at the cheaper provinces inside expensive regions: Arezzo and Pistoia in Tuscany, or Asti and Alessandria in Piedmont.
Of the 56 Italian homes for sale on SOBA today, 25 are under €100,000. Below is how each region compares, where our own listings sit, and what to budget on top of the price.
Homes in Italy · Homes in Italy under €100,000
Key numbers
| Number | What it means | Source (checked 22 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| €2,217 per m² | Average asking price for homes in Italy, September 2026 | Immobiliare.it |
| +4.87% | Change in that average since September 2025 | Immobiliare.it |
| €972 per m² | Calabria, the cheapest region | Immobiliare.it |
| €3,774 per m² | Trentino-Alto Adige, the most expensive region | Immobiliare.it |
| €5,665 per m² | Milan city, the most expensive regional capital | Immobiliare.it |
| 9% / 2% | Registration tax on a second home / a main home, on the cadastral value, minimum €1,000 | Agenzia delle Entrate |
| 0.86% to 1.06% | Annual IMU tax on a second home (some towns up to 1.14%) | Dipartimento delle Finanze |
| 56 homes, 25 under €100,000 | Italian homes for sale on SOBA, median asking price €113,500 | SOBA catalog |
How we put this list together
We used two sets of numbers. The first is Immobiliare.it's asking-price data for September 2026, by region and by province. Asking prices are what sellers want, not what homes sell for, but they are the most recent like-for-like figures for the whole country.
The second is our own catalog. Every home comes with what it really costs, what it's worth and what Chris thinks. On 22 October 2026 we had 56 Italian homes for sale. For the 53 that list a floor area, the median asking price works out at €818 per m². That is well under the national average, because we mostly pick village houses, stone farmhouses and country homes, not city flats.
So read the regional averages as a guide to the market, and our numbers as a guide to what a foreign buyer looking for a house with some character actually finds.
Under €1,200 per m²: the most home for the money
Calabria: €972 per m²
The cheapest region in Italy by asking price. Reggio Calabria province averages €833 per m² and Cosenza €958. Calabria has a long coast on two seas, and coastal homes cost more than these averages suggest.
On SOBA today: 5 homes, median €59,000. The cheapest is a one-bedroom sea-view home in a historic center at €18,000; the most expensive is a detached house with a sea-view terrace at €149,000.
Good fit if you want the sea on a small budget. Check flight connections before you choose a town.
Molise: €1,048 per m²
Small, quiet and little known, even in Italy. Campobasso, the regional capital, averages €1,059 per m².
On SOBA today: 2 homes, at €20,000 (a three-bedroom historic house on a small square) and €36,000 (a restored building split into three apartments).
Good fit if you want a village life and plan to learn Italian. In places this small, you will use it every day.
Sicily: €1,185 per m²
The spread inside Sicily is wide. Caltanissetta province averages €632 per m², Enna €715 and Agrigento €840, while Palermo province is €1,326.
On SOBA today: 2 homes, including a two-bedroom country house with 5,500 m² of land at €47,000.
Good fit if you want warm winters, good food and a big island with its own airports.
Umbria: €1,193 per m²
The surprise on this list. Umbria sits next to Tuscany, with the same hill towns and olive groves, at less than half Tuscany's average asking price (€2,700). Terni province averages €1,026 per m² and Perugia province €1,254.
On SOBA today: 4 homes, from a medieval stone watchtower in a mountain hamlet at €89,000 to country estates over €700,000.
Good fit if you want central Italy, with Rome and Florence both within reach by train.
€1,200 to €1,700 per m²: the middle ground
Basilicata: €1,312 per m²
Home to Matera, but most of the region is rural and quiet. Potenza, the capital, averages €1,280 per m².
Abruzzo: €1,425 per m²
Mountains and beaches in one region, east of Rome across the Apennines. Chieti province averages €1,206 per m² and L'Aquila province €1,218. Teramo (€1,707) and Pescara (€1,635) cost more, mostly because of the coast.
On SOBA today: a one-bedroom country house in Teramo province at €35,000.
Puglia: €1,456 per m²
Popular with foreign buyers, but the averages stay low outside the hot spots. Taranto province averages €1,062 per m², Foggia €1,071 and Lecce €1,200. Brindisi (€1,707) and Bari (€1,844) cost more.
On SOBA today: a two-bedroom apartment in a historic center at €185,000.
Piedmont: €1,467 per m²
This is where Italy's cheapest northern homes are. Biella province averages €633 per m², Alessandria €790, Vercelli €792 and Asti €877. Cuneo (€1,287), home to the Langhe wine hills, costs more, and Verbania on Lake Maggiore is €2,109.
On SOBA today: 7 homes, from a mountain house with 2 acres at €68,000 and a stone farmhouse with 8,000 m² at €110,000, up to a frescoed 18th-century palazzo at €850,000.
Good fit if you want the north, wine country, and easy drives to France and Switzerland.
Le Marche: €1,656 per m²
Hills between the Apennines and the Adriatic, often compared to Tuscany. Fermo province averages €1,387 per m² and Macerata €1,400.
On SOBA today: 2 country houses, at €39,000 and €85,000.
Over €2,500 per m²: famous names, higher prices
Tuscany: €2,700 per m²
The average hides a big range. Arezzo province averages €1,575 per m² and Pistoia €1,604, close to Le Marche. Pisa is €1,975 and Siena €2,066. Florence province is €3,391, and Lucca province tops Tuscany at €3,778, pushed up by the Versilia coast.
That Lucca number is a good lesson. On SOBA today there is a stone village vicarage in the Garfagnana valley, in Lucca province, at €50,000. Province averages tell you about the market, not about every village in it.
On SOBA today: 10 homes, 3 of them under €100,000.
Lazio: €2,645 per m²
Rome itself averages €3,875 per m², but the countryside north and south of the city is far cheaper.
On SOBA today: 5 homes, median €87,000, 4 of them under €100,000.
Liguria (€2,821), Lombardy (€2,797), Sardinia (€2,542)
Liguria's coast and Lombardy's lakes and cities keep these regions expensive. Milan averages €5,665 per m². Sardinia's average is high because so much of the market is coastal.
On SOBA today: 4 homes in Liguria (none under €150,000), 5 in Lombardy (2 under €100,000) and 5 in Sardinia (median €139,000).
All regions at a glance
Asking prices from Immobiliare.it, September 2026. SOBA counts are homes for sale on 22 October 2026.
| Region | Avg asking price per m² | Change in 1 year | Homes on SOBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calabria | €972 | +2.0% | 5 |
| Molise | €1,048 | +0.3% | 2 |
| Sicily | €1,185 | +1.3% | 2 |
| Umbria | €1,193 | +2.2% | 4 |
| Basilicata | €1,312 | -1.6% | 0 |
| Abruzzo | €1,425 | +4.9% | 1 |
| Puglia | €1,456 | +1.5% | 1 |
| Piedmont | €1,467 | +5.3% | 7 |
| Le Marche | €1,656 | +3.0% | 2 |
| Friuli Venezia Giulia | €1,847 | +7.8% | 0 |
| Campania | €1,993 | +2.7% | 0 |
| Emilia-Romagna | €2,195 | +5.9% | 0 |
| Veneto | €2,271 | +6.7% | 2 |
| Sardinia | €2,542 | +3.5% | 5 |
| Valle d'Aosta | €2,642 | -1.4% | 1 |
| Lazio | €2,645 | +4.7% | 5 |
| Tuscany | €2,700 | +4.9% | 10 |
| Lombardy | €2,797 | +6.7% | 5 |
| Liguria | €2,821 | +4.2% | 4 |
| Trentino-Alto Adige | €3,774 | +5.6% | 0 |
What it costs on top of the price
The tax most buyers pay when they buy from a private seller is registration tax. It is 9% for a second home and 2% for a main home (prima casa), plus €50 mortgage tax and €50 cadastral tax. The 9% or 2% is charged on the home's cadastral value, not on the price you pay, and it can't be less than €1,000. To get the 2% rate you must live in the town or move your residence there within 18 months of buying.
A worked example: you buy a €100,000 village house as a holiday home, and the notary tells you the cadastral value is €30,000. Registration tax is 9% of €30,000, so €2,700, plus €100 in fixed taxes. If an agent is involved, buyers often pay around 3% plus 22% VAT, which on €100,000 is €3,660. Then add the notary's fee; ask for a written quote before you sign anything.
Every year after that, a second home pays IMU, at 0.86% of the cadastral base unless the town sets its own rate (up to 1.06%, or 1.14% in some towns), plus the TARI waste tax.
Try your own numbers: Buying costs
Who can buy
Americans can buy homes in Italy. Italy lets foreigners buy if Italians can buy in their country, and Italy's foreign ministry notes no particular limits on Italians buying homes in the US. Citizens of EU countries don't need this check at all.
You will need an Italian tax code, the codice fiscale, before you sign. Buying a home does not give you the right to live in Italy: without a visa you can spend 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen area.
How to choose between these places
The price per m² is a starting point. These questions matter more once you start looking:
- How will you get there? Check flights from your nearest US airport to the closest Italian airport, then the drive from there.
- Will you live there or visit? A village that is lovely in August can be very quiet in February. Go in winter before you buy.
- Do you want a project? The cheapest homes on any list, including ours, often need work. A €20,000 house that needs €80,000 of work is a €100,000 house.
- How much Italian do you speak? In the south and in small towns, expect to handle the notary, the town hall and the builder in Italian, or pay someone who can.
My advice: pick two or three regions from this page, set a SOBA search for them, and look at real homes for a few weeks before you book a trip. You learn more from 30 real listings than from any average.
Homes in Italy · retire · mistakes to avoid
FAQ
Where is the cheapest place to buy a house in Italy? By regional average, Calabria, at €972 per m² in September 2026. By province, Biella in Piedmont (€633) and Caltanissetta in Sicily (€632) are the cheapest of the provinces we checked. Village homes in many regions sell well below these averages.
Can I buy a home in Italy for under €100,000? Yes. Of the 56 Italian homes for sale on SOBA today, 25 are under €100,000, and 7 are under €50,000. Most are village or country houses, and many need some work.
Are house prices in Italy going up? The national average asking price rose 4.87% between September 2025 and September 2026. Some regions went the other way: Basilicata fell 1.6% and Valle d'Aosta 1.4%.
Is Tuscany too expensive? Not everywhere. Tuscany averages €2,700 per m², but Arezzo province averages €1,575 and Pistoia €1,604. Florence and Lucca provinces are where prices are highest.
What taxes do I pay when I buy a holiday home in Italy? From a private seller, 9% registration tax on the cadastral value (minimum €1,000), plus €50 mortgage tax and €50 cadastral tax. New builds bought from a builder pay VAT instead. Then IMU every year.
Do I need to be an Italian resident to buy? No. Americans and other foreigners can buy as non-residents. You need a codice fiscale, and you pay the 9% second-home rate unless you move your residence to the town.
Sources
All checked 22 October 2026.
- Immobiliare.it, Quotazioni immobiliari in Italia, September 2026: https://www.immobiliare.it/mercato-immobiliare/
- Immobiliare.it, regional pages for Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Puglia, Sicily, Calabria, Piedmont and Le Marche: https://www.immobiliare.it/mercato-immobiliare/toscana/ (and /umbria/, /abruzzo/, /puglia/, /sicilia/, /calabria/, /piemonte/, /marche/)
- Agenzia delle Entrate, L'acquisto di una casa: le imposte: https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/acquisto-di-una-casa-le-imposte
- Agenzia delle Entrate, L'acquisto con i benefici prima casa: https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/l-acquisto-con-i-benefici-prima-casa
- Dipartimento delle Finanze, IMU rates: https://www.finanze.gov.it/it/fiscalita/fiscalita-regionale-e-locale/Imposta-municipale-propria-IMU/disciplina-del-tributo/aliquote/
- Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Diritti e reciprocità: https://www.esteri.it/it/temi/diplomazia_giuridica/condizreciprocita/
- Ministero degli Affari Esteri, reciprocity sheet for the United States: https://www.esteri.it/mae/resource/doc/RECIPROCITA/STATI_UNITI_D_AMERICA.docx
- Consulate General of Italy in New York, Codice fiscale: https://consnewyork.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-italiano/codice-fiscale/
- Dove.it, agent commission in Italy: https://www.dove.it/guida/quanto-costa-unagenzia-immobiliare/ck022opngj05i0936zd88zz4u
- European Commission, Schengen short-stay calculator: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/border-crossing/short-stay-calculator_en
- SOBA catalog, Italian homes for sale, counted 22 October 2026: https://listings.soba.homes/homes?countries=Italy
This is a guide, not legal or tax advice. A local lawyer or notary confirms the details for your purchase.
