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Village in Sicily Sells Houses for Two Euros Each

two euro houses italy Sambuca di Sicilia
One of the houses on sale for two euro in Italy. Credit: Municipality of Sambuca di Sicilia.

A village in Sicily, off the southern tip of Italy named Sambuca di Sicilia has put some abandoned local houses up for sale for only two euros, amounting to two dollars and some change for each.

The current list of houses, which was released to the public on July 15, is a follow-up from a similar scheme which famously sold Italian houses for only one euro in 2019. 

Two-euro houses for sale in Italy

Around twenty houses are to be sold for dirt cheap prices, and would-be investors can apply online, with the application period closing November 5. Following the receipt of all requests, a public auction will be held, and some lucky people will walk away with incredibly cheap homes in a picturesque Italian village.

Sambuca di Sicilia is just one of many places in Italy which launched schemes to sell off houses for one or two euros, but no other village has been nearly as successful in drumming up foreign excitement for its budget homes.

Since the one euro home project was so successful in 2019, Sambuca di Sicilia has chosen to up the houses’ starting price to two euros this time around. Although some properties did sell for only one euro the last time the scheme occurred, following the auction most homes sold for between €5,000 ($5,883) and €10,000 ($11,767).

Many of the houses that are now going up for auction are adjacent to each other, giving buyers the option of demolishing or otherwise renovating the homes to create larger properties.

There are also empty lots and patches between houses for sale this time around, meaning that people interested in building from scratch can also take part in the much lowered prices.

“We had a lot of interest in these open spaces from Middle Eastern buyers, it gives people more room for creation and inspiration, to shape how they want — plus they’re cheaper, about €500,” said the town’s deputy mayor Giuseppe Cacioppo.

Renovation necessary

Although these homes are being sold at incredibly low prices, there is a catch – all of them need to be renovated before being able to be occupied. Despite this, there are certainly different levels of work necessary for the different properties on offer to be restored.

There are some two-euro houses in the Italian village which have been kept in fairly good condition, with salvageable painted majolica tile floors and charmingly colored walls from the 1920s. However, others will need to be emptied of abandoned belongings and will likely need extensive renovation.

Cacioppo noted that the houses are going to be sold in 2021 using the same process as the sales in 2019.
“The regulation has worked well and has been very transparent and easy, so we’ll stick to it,” he noted.
“People taking part in the auction will be required to pay a deposit guarantee of €5,000. If they lose the bid the sum is immediately returned to them but if they win, it will automatically be their deposit guarantee,” he added.
Another stipulation of the one of a kind deal is that buyers must finish renovating properties within three years once they have their name on the deed. However, they are not required to reside in the homes and only four of the 16 homes sold in 2019 are currently being renovated, despite two years having passed.

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