Taxes, incentives, auctions and property purchases by international buyers.
We are talking about agevolazioni prima casa, a tax deduction for the first home. On real estate worth 100,000 euros, the tax falls from 9% to 2%. At expensive facilities, the savings are even greater. The main thing is that this benefit is…
Read story →It all depends on who's selling. If an individual pays registration tax (from 2% to 9% depending on status). If the developer - VAT from 4% to 22%. But here’s the main thing: taxes are not considered from the real value, but from the cadast…
Read story →When you buy a property in Italy, there is an intermediate stage between the offer to buy and the final notarial deed – the so-called compromesso. It is a mutual obligation: neither the seller nor the buyer can simply back off without conse…
Read story →The European Commission requires Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden to urgently bring national legislation into…
Read story →Parliament is debating two bills that would allow the state to revoke citizenship from naturalised Italians convicted of serious crimes—murder, human trafficking, sexual violence. On the surface, this appears reasonable. But the devil lies …
Read story →Inside an ancient trullo in Apulia, temperatures can run 15 degrees Celsius lower than outside. No air conditioning required—just medieval engineering. Trulli are conical stone dwellings built in Apulia from the 14th century onwards. Their …
Read story →In Italy, the IMU (Unified Municipal Tax) applies to all property owners except those with a primary residence—though there are important caveats. Introduced in 2012, the IMU covers second homes, luxury properties, commercial land and agric…
Read story →Owners of second homes in Italy should note that 16 June marks the deadline for the first instalment of municipal property tax (IMU). A second payment falls due in December. The tax operates selectively: it does not apply to primary residen…
Read story →After a decade of stagnation, Italy is finally moving. In 2025, residential sales rose across the country: Palermo led the way with +26%, Turin +9%, Rome +8%, Naples and Bologna +7%, and Milan +6%. The national average growth reached 6.6%. …
Read story →Enquiries from the United States have fallen by 21.6%, accounting for the overall 5.89% decline in interest in Italian properties during 2025. Germany has also lost momentum, down 13.6%. Yet the picture is more nuanced: over five years, dem…
Read story →The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina have sparked renewed interest in the Italian Alps—but the real trend is not sport, but quality of life. Trentino-Alto Adige, the Lombard Alps, and the Venetian Dolomites represent three regions …
Read story →The small town in Teramo province has become the region's leading destination for overseas property enquiries, accounting for 4 per cent of all real-estate searches in Abruzzo. The appeal is no accident: Atri is a living medieval town with …
Read story →Nearly 30 per cent of all foreign property enquiries in Belluno province are directed towards Tambre, a diminutive mountain village that has eclipsed even the celebrated Cortina d'Ampezzo in popularity. What draws investors? First and forem…
Read story →Argentina's diaspora is home to 903,000 Italians, Germany to 813,000, and Switzerland to 648,000. Yet these figures represent only those officially registered as Italian citizens. The children and grandchildren of emigrants have often faile…
Read story →The region has launched the 'Residenzialità in Montagna 2024' programme, which subsidises the purchase and renovation of homes in sparsely populated communes. Authorities have allocated €2.8 million to revitalise mountain areas with fewer t…
Read story →Venice's population has fallen below 48,000, while Florence residents no longer recognise their city. Italy faces a mounting crisis as tourist lettings have displaced locals from the historic centres of major cities. The Meloni government h…
Read story →Florence has nearly tripled its restricted zone for short-term tourist lettings. Whereas restrictions previously applied only to the UNESCO city centre, from 20 June they will extend to nine residential districts, affecting over 100,000 pro…
Read story →For those who relocated to Italy before Brexit: the carta di soggiorno is no longer merely advisable—it has become a practical necessity. The British Embassy in Rome has confirmed that this is the only document that protects against registr…
Read story →Relocating to Italy requires strategy rather than romance. The Local surveyed foreign residents to gather their advice. Debora from Oregon began by studying seismic activity maps and ruled out high-risk zones. She then identified regions of…
Read story →Until May 2025, tourist apartments were banned only within the UNESCO heritage zone, affecting 35,600 properties. The prohibition now extends to nine residential districts beyond the historic centre, bringing the total number of flats subje…
Read story →It may sound counterintuitive, but non-residents can acquire a primary residence in Italy whilst remaining abroad and still qualify for first-time buyer tax relief. Provided you are not registered with AIRE (the registry of Italians abroad)…
Read story →Italy's property auction market is expanding for good reason—genuine savings are available. State-owned company Invimit, which operates under the Italian Ministry of Finance, is disposing of 474 municipal properties across 33 cities includi…
Read story →Italian real estate at auction is not a gamble but a carefully structured process. Property reaches auction for three reasons: the debtor cannot settle with creditors, a company has declared bankruptcy, or a state body is selling assets (wh…
Read story →Italian municipalities are aggressively disposing of abandoned buildings through symbolic pricing. The mechanism is straightforward: local authorities identify the owner of a semi-derelict property and offer to sell it for €1 rather than be…
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