Are Italy’s €1 home sales too good to be true?

Small Italian towns and villages have made headlines for their one euro home schemes. 

They are run by local councils or communities in rural towns with dwindling populations – often in Sicily – as an attempt to attract new investment and residents. To reboot the area. 

A house in Italy for one euro sounds too good to be true, which is why we visited Mussomeli - the best known 1 euro house scheme - and talked to foreigners who bought houses there.

We found that while costs are higher than €1, owners still feel like they got an absolute bargain.

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Looking out from the viewpoint on the SP16 road to Mussomeli, you’re struck by the sheer beauty of the scenery. To your left is Mussomeli itself, a town of 9,915 people spilling down a steep hillside. In front is one of Sicily’s most spectacular landscapes: 180 degrees of undulating, tanned hills erupting into craggy peaks. A Norman castle bursts from a nearby bluff.

Little wonder, you might think, that many people who visit decide within days to buy a property here.

How does the €1 house scheme work?

There are currently 20 €1 properties for sale in Mussomeli, plus dozens of ‘premium’ houses that cost more (from around €10,000-€50,000) but need less work. Mussomeli’s town council launched the scheme in 2017, putting 80 houses on the market for the symbolic price of €1.

Since then, between 350 and 400 houses have been bought by foreigners, according to Nathalie Milazzo, owner of Agenzia Immobiliare Siciliana – the official estate agency managing Mussomeli’s €1 scheme. 

Most purchases are holiday properties or second homes. Only 10% of buyers moved permanently, although more plan to retire there, says Milazzo. Buyers are from all over the world; the town now has Argentinian doctors, a Ukrainian-run art gallery and German and Romanian owned restaurants. And plenty of Brits, too – one lavish palazzo is currently being renovated by an English family. 

Barbara Märkl came to view houses in July 2024 and snapped one up within days. Originally from Germany, she had lived in Australia for 16 years when she decided to return to Europe. This scheme, she says, offered a unique financial opportunity to become a homeowner. 

‘I researched the towns offering the programs for a few months,’ Barbara tells me. ‘I planned to travel for three weeks around Sicily and find “my” town. Mussomeli was the first stop. I knew after a day that I didn’t need to look any more.’ 

It took Barbara a week to find her house: a three-bedroom, three-storey property in the lower part of town. It cost €15,000. ‘I saw three €1 houses but didn’t want that – mine is a home that’s been neglected for a few years, not a ruin,’ says Barbara.

She will replace the roof and redo the electrics and plumbing at a cost of around €35,000. Because of course, although you really can buy houses through these schemes for €1 (plus property taxes and sales fees totalling around €5,000), that symbolic figure is just the starting point. 

Although the houses are often still standing, they’re effectively plots of land. Beyond the skeleton of the exterior, they need a complete rebuild. The construction cost is the real price of the property. 

The scheme’s original rules state that buyers must renovate their house exterior within three years or lose a €5,000 deposit, although the council has temporarily doubled this timeframe to help buyers. 

How much does a €1 house really cost?

Rubia Daniels, from California, was so taken with Mussomeli that she ended up buying three €1 houses for herself and her children. Rubia’s €1 home – three storeys, two bedrooms – has cost her €38,000 so far. She expects to pay another €12,000, taking her to the same €50,000 total as Barbara. 

But for that price, ‘everything is new and I don’t expect to need any more work for 50 years,’ she says. Rubia’s brother-in-law, a builder, worked on the house initially, but she subsequently had to wait a year for her preferred builder, Calogero Lanzalaco, to be available. 

Demand for builders, plumbers and electricians is high, and both Rubia and Barbara warn about the number of cowboy builders for whom foreign buyers are easy targets. 

Lanzalaco advises getting a builder to quote for the work before buying. ‘We might say, “Careful, the roof needs redoing,”’ he says. Then there’s damp – a particular problem in Mussomeli. ‘People think about redoing the kitchen and bathroom, but don’t think of the humidity coming up from the ground,’ says Lanzalaco. ‘They redo the kitchen and bathroom, realise the water’s coming in, and two years later have to start again.’

Are one euro houses still cheaper, despite ‘hidden costs’?

In truth, when you factor in construction costs, these €1 schemes aren’t much cheaper than other rural Italian communities. You can find flats and houses needing renovation for low five-figure sums across Italy. 

When I scanned real-estate website Idealista, a one-bed house in Sicily’s Piazza Armerina is currently on sale for €9,000. Even in sought-after Tuscany, you can get a small apartment in a picture-perfect hilltop hamlet such as Chiusdino for €25,000, with little refurbishment required. 

Yet rural Italian communities are notoriously tight-knit. While €1 houses aren’t always the bargain of the century, places like Mussomeli actively welcome outsiders – which can be rare in rural Italy. 

Can a British person buy a €1 house?

Mussomeli council helps new arrivals through often hair-tearing Italian bureaucracy. That’s useful because, while there are no restrictions on non-EU citizens buying here, Brits can only visit Italy for three months in every six-month period.

For those who want to stay longer and relocate, the council can help with applying for residency. 

See rules for British citizens visiting the EU

Do towns with €1 houses have drawbacks?

Mussomeli won’t be everyone’s Italian dream. There is a reason houses are empty.

The €1 towns are often remote and inconvenient – Mussomeli is 90 minutes from Palermo, and its extremely steep streets are often too narrow for cars. Most locals live in the modern town at the top of the hill, where you’ll find most shops and amenities, leaving the old town abandoned in parts. 

Depending on where you buy, it can be anything from an easy five-minute walk to a tough 20-minute uphill hike to the main piazza, which connects the old and new towns. 

Yet no one I meet on my visit has regrets about their purchase, and locals talk of a renewed sense of community.

Nor is it all foreigners: Italians are buying too. Mussomeli architect Nicola Sola tells me he chose to stay because, unlike some other €1 towns, ‘Mussomeli offers everything – there are banks, pharmacies, supermarkets, a hospital. There are 15 churches, the castle, and Sicily opening up in front of you’.

Or, more simply, ‘Mussomeli is beautiful.’

Where are the best €1 homes in 2025?

You can find schemes across Italy and in several other countries, but behind the headlines very few places operate ongoing, open-to-all projects – and you should always proceed with caution.

Mussomeli, Sicily

Buyers must pay a €5,000 deposit, refundable if the exterior is refurbished within three years (currently extended to six). Notary and property tax fees are around €5,000; from there, calculate a minimum €600 per square metre to refurbish. Visit case1euro for more information.

Cammarata, Sicily

A 30-minute drive across billowing hills from Mussomeli, Cammarata is notched into the mountainside. Its tiny alleys are atmospheric, but nightmarish for nervous drivers. The scheme was set up by Streetto, an association of local architects and designers who curate the houses and advise on refurbishment costs. As with Mussomeli, there’s a €5,000 refundable deposit; you must successfully apply to renovate the property within a year and complete the renovation within three. Visit Streetto for more information.

Sambuca, Sicily

This beautiful hilltop village, between a reservoir and mountainous nature reserve, has been so popular that it upped prices... to €3 per house. Buyers must complete the restoration within three years or lose the €5,000 deposit. The scheme operates in tranches, opening a new selection of properties every two years. Visit Comune di Sambuca di Sicilia for more information.

This article was first featured in the November issue of Which? Travel. 

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