A city in Italy is offering people $31,000 to move, but they must buy and renovate abandoned houses.

The Italian town of Presicce is offering those interested the chance to buy its vacant houses for 30,000 euros, or about 31,000 US dollars. Presicce is located in the Apulia region, at the "heel" of Italy, and has a rich history but a declining population.

This is just the latest example of a small Italian town trying to attract new residents by offering significant incentives. Other Italian cities suffering from declining populations and issues with abandoned houses have also introduced similar programs. For instance, the town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, located in southern Italy, offered to pay people up to $52,500 to move there. Meanwhile, on the Italian island of Sicily, towns auctioned off houses starting at a price of around $1. Other European cities, such as the Swiss mountain village of Monti Skiaga, also sold houses for just $1, although these buildings often require serious repairs. American cities are also using various incentives, from cash payments to property tax exemptions and free bicycles, to attract new residents.

If the offer from Precihce for $31,000 has caught your interest, buyers must commit to restoring vacant residential properties in this 9,000-person town. To receive the funds, buyers must purchase a home built before 1991 and register with Precihce. Applications for the Precihce program have not yet been launched, but according to CNN, they will be available in the coming weeks.

The prices of houses in Prezzicce are usually around $691 per square meter. In 2019, Prezzicce merged with the neighboring town of Acquarica, forming a new municipality (similar to a district) called Prezzicce-Acquarica. This allowed the region to receive more funding from the Italian government, which is used to revitalize the community. According to the Italian real estate website Immobiliare, houses in the municipality of Prezzicce-Acquarica are typically sold for €669, or about $690, per square meter. A typical house of 46 square meters, or about 500 square feet, usually costs just over $31,000.

People who have taken advantage of various financial incentives offered by different cities share stories of challenging renovations and great joy. Frank Cohen participated in a program called "Your Home in Latronico," which helps buyers find cheap abandoned houses in the southern Italian province of Potenza. He told CNN in September 2021 that he and his wife bought three houses in Latronico for less than $52,000 and are happily restoring them. "Latronico has changed our lives," he told CNN. "It's the best of both worlds."