IT Italy · Housing affordability
How much house can I afford in Italy?
A household in Italy with net income of EURa year, with EURin savings available, can afford ...
Maximum purchase price . Rata/reddito affordability test
EUR 154k
Bound by your income (33% rule) · EUR 123k mortgage on EUR 31k down
The two rules
Italy has two rules. Both must be met.
Italian banks apply the rata/reddito ratio and standard LTV limits. The 33% income cap is the binding constraint for most buyers — but without a 20% down payment, approval is unlikely unless you qualify for the Fondo Prima Casa.
33%
Maximum rata/reddito
Total monthly debt service — mortgage repayment plus any existing debts — cannot exceed 33% of net household income. This is a bank guideline enforced consistently across Italian lenders.
rata <= reddito x 0.33
20%
Anticipo (down payment)
Banks finance up to 80% LTV, meaning you need at least 20% of the purchase price as anticipo. The Fondo Prima Casa can reduce this to 5-10% for eligible first-time buyers under 36.
anticipo >= 0.20 x prezzo
Have a place in mind?
Drop in a price and see where it fails.
Each test is independent: you need to clear both. The 33% rata/reddito rule limits your monthly payment; the 20% anticipo rule ensures you have skin in the game.
EUR
2 of 2 tests fail.
33% rata/reddito ruleshort EUR 8k
You have EUR 28k/yrNeed EUR 36k/yr
20% anticiposhort EUR 5k
You have EUR 35kNeed EUR 40k
The lever you can actually pull
Two ceilings. Whichever is lower wins.
With your savings fixed, the price you can afford scales linearly with income — until the down payment rule starts to bind. Above the kink, more salary will not buy you a bigger place; more savings will.
What you can affordIncome limit (5.6× gross)Total down (5× cash + pension)
Your monthly budget
What you would actually pay each month.
Italy uses the actual rate — no stress test. Your monthly payment at 3.5% fixed over 25 years is what you qualify on and what you pay.
Monthly headroom
0
The stress test charges you 1.0× what you will actually pay. That spread is what you have, in theory, to absorb a rate cycle, or invest, if you would rather.
Where this lands you
Median apartment, by city.
Your purchase-price ceiling (drawn in cyan) cuts across the price of a typical apartment in Italy's largest cities. Cities above the line are out of reach without more income or more savings.
Milan
EUR 380k
Venice
EUR 350k
Florence
EUR 330k
Rome
EUR 270k
Bologna
EUR 300k
Verona
EUR 230k
Naples
EUR 200k
Turin
EUR 150k
Genoa
EUR 130k
Palermo
EUR 120k
Within reachOut of reachYour ceiling · EUR 154k
Before you sign
This is probably the largest financial commitment of your life.
A home purchase is not just the price tag. There are significant costs on top that are not included in the affordability test above.
2-9%
Imposta di registro
Registration tax is 2% of the cadastral value for your primary residence (prima casa) or 9% for a second home. Cadastral value is typically 60-70% lower than market price. If buying new from a developer, IVA (VAT) at 4% or 10% of the purchase price applies instead.
2-3%
Notaio (notary fees)
The notaio handles the legal transfer and mortgage registration. Fees range from 2-3% of the purchase price and are non-negotiable. This covers the rogito (deed), mortgage registration, and compliance checks.
0-1%
IMU + condominio
IMU (property tax) is exempt for your primary residence — a significant Italian advantage. For second homes, it runs 0.76-1.06% of cadastral value annually. Monthly condominio (building maintenance) fees of EUR 50-200 apply for apartments.
None of this means you should not buy. It means you should go in with open eyes. The affordability test tells you what you can do. Whether you should depends on how long you plan to stay, your alternative investments, and the local market dynamics.
For scale
What else costs about EUR 154k?
- A trullo in Puglia with olive grove · EUR 80k1.93×
- A new Alfa Romeo Tonale plug-in hybrid · EUR 48k3.21×
- A full apartment renovation in a historic centre · EUR 60k2.57×
- A two-bedroom apartment in Palermo · EUR 120k1.28×
- A bilocale in Turin's San Salvario neighbourhood · EUR 140k1.10×
- EUR 500/month invested at 6% real for 20 years (final portfolio value) · EUR 235k0.66×
- A three-bedroom apartment in Bologna's centro storico · EUR 300k0.51×
- A restored casale in the Tuscan countryside with 1 hectare · EUR 450k0.34×
- A penthouse apartment in Rome's Trastevere (100m2) · EUR 600k0.26×
See the full income x down payment matrix
income (down) / savings (right)
EUR 30k
EUR 60k
EUR 100k
EUR 200k
30.000/yr
EUR 150k
savings-bound
EUR 165k
income-bound
EUR 165k
income-bound
EUR 165k
income-bound
50.000/yr
EUR 150k
savings-bound
EUR 275k
income-bound
EUR 275k
income-bound
EUR 275k
income-bound
80.000/yr
EUR 150k
savings-bound
EUR 300k
savings-bound
EUR 440k
income-bound
EUR 440k
income-bound
120.000/yr
EUR 150k
savings-bound
EUR 300k
savings-bound
EUR 500k
savings-bound
EUR 660k
income-bound
180.000/yr
EUR 150k
savings-bound
EUR 300k
savings-bound
EUR 500k
savings-bound
EUR 990k
income-bound
Net income used. No insurance included.
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Track every account that feeds into your anticipo: conti correnti, conti deposito, BTP, fondi — all in one place. We re-check your affordability against your live balances every night.
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Next steps
Tools and guides to get you there.
Mortgage calculatorBuild an amortization schedule with extra payments. See total interest and how fast you pay it off.CalculateSavings goal plannerSet your down-payment target and a deadline. We back-solve the monthly savings rate you need.PlanCompound interestSee how your down-payment savings grow over time. Visualize the difference one extra year makes.ProjectBuying your first homeA step-by-step guide covering down payments, mortgage options, and the true cost of homeownership.Read
Frequently asked
Italian banks use the rata/reddito (instalment/income) ratio to assess whether you can afford a mortgage. Total monthly debt service — including all existing debts — should not exceed 30-33% of your net household income. Unlike France's HCSF hard cap, this is a guideline rather than a regulation, but banks enforce it consistently. Exceeding 33% will make approval very unlikely.
Tasso fisso (fixed rate) locks your monthly payment for the entire loan term — currently around 3.5%. Tasso variabile (variable rate) is linked to 3-month Euribor plus a bank spread, currently around 4.5% but it fluctuates with ECB policy. After the 2022-2023 rate shock, fixed-rate mortgages have become the dominant choice in Italy. If you choose variable, your rata can increase sharply — the bank qualifies you at the actual rate, not a stress-test rate.
The Fondo di Garanzia Prima Casa is a state-backed guarantee that helps first-time buyers — especially those under 36 with an ISEE under EUR 40,000 — access up to 80% (or even 95% in some cases) LTV financing. The state guarantees up to 80% of the shortfall between the bank's standard 80% LTV limit and the actual LTV. This means you may only need a 5-10% down payment instead of 20%. The program is periodically renewed by the government.
The imposta di registro is the registration tax paid when purchasing a property. For your primary residence (prima casa), the rate is 2% of the cadastral value (valore catastale), which is typically 60-70% lower than the market price. For a second home (seconda casa), the rate is 9% of the cadastral value. If buying from a developer (new-build), you pay IVA (VAT) at 4% (prima casa) or 10% (seconda casa) of the purchase price instead, plus a fixed EUR 200 registration fee.
Yes. Italian tax law allows a 19% IRPEF deduction (detrazione) on mortgage interest paid for your primary residence, up to a maximum of EUR 4,000 per year in interest. This means a maximum tax benefit of EUR 760 per year (19% of EUR 4,000). The deduction applies only to the prima casa, not to second homes or investment properties. You must be residing in the property within 12 months of purchase.
A perizia is the mandatory property valuation ordered by the bank before approving your mortgage — a surveyor inspects the property and confirms its value. The cost (EUR 200-400) is usually charged to the borrower. Surroga (also called portabilita) is the right to transfer your mortgage to a different bank for better terms, at zero cost. The Bersani law (2007) guarantees this right, and the new bank pays all transfer costs. This is a powerful tool if rates drop after you've signed.