The average cost of renting a home in Italy over 11.9 years is equal to the cost of buying a home.

In Siena you can buy a home for the equivalent of 22.8 years of rent, while in Biella 9.8 years is enough. According to calculations by the research department of Idealist, a leading Italian real estate portal, the average cost of buying a house in Italy is equivalent to 11.9 years of rent. The number of rentals required to buy a home is one indicator that can help assess which market is more attractive for renting or buying a home.

This is just a guideline and does not pretend to solve the eternal dilemma of which is more profitable - renting or buying, as this choice is influenced by a number of factors such as individual preferences, time expectations, fixed mortgage costs and taxes.

Nevertheless, a comparison of purchase and rental values shows that the more rental payments required to pay for a house, the more attractive it will be for a renter to move in without buying. On the contrary: the lower the ratio between the average selling price per square meter and the average monthly rent per square meter, the more attractive it will be to buy.

The index must be evaluated for each case separately, as each city represents a different situation. When comparing sale and rental prices, it can be seen that the highest index is in the city of Siena with 22.8 years, followed by Cuneo (21.9 years), Trento (21.7) and Venice (21.2), while in Matera it is 20.6 years. All other major cities require less than 20 years of rent to buy a home, but most are above the national average of 11.9 years. Only five cities are below this threshold: Brindisi (11.6 years), Rovigo (11.2), Trapani (10.8), Syracuse (10.5), Biella (9.8).

In big cities such asMilan, the purchase price is the equivalent of 18.8 years' rent, while inRome and Naples it is 17.8 and 17.3 respectively.