The new American dream? Buying and renting out vacation homes in Italy.
Americans are buying Italian properties for rental income and vacation use.
The picturesque country's cheap real estate is enticing Americans to spend money there instead of the US.
On top of the passive income, rentals mean having a place to stay when vacationing.
Every time Laurie DeRiu visited her father-in-law in Sardinia, she left enamored by the Italian island's beauty and relaxed atmosphere.
"It's a totally different quality of life there," DeRiu, 60, told Business Insider. "It's not at all the hustle and bustle that happens, especially in the northeast."
Though she fantasized about someday moving to Sardinia with her husband, DeRiu wasn't quite ready to leave western Connecticut. As a regional director for a health services company, she frequently travels around the US for work. Plus, her children and grandchildren are stateside.
Yet she still thought about how nice it would be to live there. So when when her husband asked her if she'd ever thought about them living in Italy part-time, she jumped at the opportunity to make it work.
The DeRius sold their rental property in North Carolina with the plan of buying a property in Italy they could rent out part of the year and enjoy themselves the rest of the time. In July 2024, they closed on a three-bedroom apartment in Alghero, Sardinia, for €405,000, which was about $440,883 at the time.
So far, business has been booming. "It's renting out very quickly," DeRiu said, estimating that they had about 70% of the property's availabilty booked within five days.
Now, the DeRius are making their Italian dreams a reality, at least for part of the year. And they're making money doing it.
Managing property outside of your primary residence is quickly becoming a key part of making the American dream work. But some Americans like the DeRius are finding it easier to realize that dream in Italy — with the added bonus of getting guaranteed lodging on their next vacation.
Some Americans want to personally enjoy their investments while reaping the monetary benefits
DeRiu said she tries to split her time between Connecticut and Alghero, ideally staying in Italy from November through May while her guests enjoy the high season during the summer.
She employed Italian Real Estate Lawyers, an Italian firm that helps Americans with Italian citizenship and also offers real estate services, to help facilitate the purchase. Attorney for Italian Real Estate Lawyers Marco Permunian said he's seen an uptick in Americans like DeRiu buying property in Italy.
"Over the past 12 years, we have seen a steady increase every year with some spikes that we have seen in connection with concerns regarding politics and social events," he told BI, citing a 15% increase in Americans using his services in 2024 compared to 2023.
Though he doesn't ask his clients why they're considering Italy, he noted that the price of homes has to be a large factor.
"We have clients, for example, from the state of California, or New York, or Pennsylvania, and to buy a house there, it costs several hundreds of thousands of dollars," Permunian said. "In Italy, especially in central and southern Italy, the cost of a property is a fraction of that. So that also helps Americans make the decision to buy."
Some towns in Italy offer homes for as little as €1 — though renovations are likely necessary. And small towns like Ollolai, a small municipality in Sardinia, are specifically targeting Americans to buy homes.
Melina Manasse and her husband closed on a one-bedroom home in October 2024 in Lecce, a historic city in the heel of Italy's boot.
Manasse, 46, paid $278,000 for her property. Since it was already renovated, she was able to list it by March 2025. Bookings have already started, and she's expecting to make over $3,000 a month.
For Manasse, the Italian home is part of a larger plan to prioritize enjoyment when choosing her investments. She owns property in Antigua and England and envisions eventually being able to bounce from country to country without paying for lodging.
"This was a strategic decision to invest in Antigua, which is really popular in the winter months, and then have Lecce, which is really popular in the summer months, and then to have a long-term rental in England, which is 30 minutes by train from London," she said.
"We will probably spend two to three months in one, bounce, bounce, bounce, and then you're living net zero," she added. "So they're all paying for themselves."
"We will probably spend two to three months in one, bounce, bounce, bounce, and then you're living net zero," she added. "So they're all paying for themselves."
A down payment on property in a US city can get you an entire home in Italy
Kelly Beigle and Boris Krstevski started their journey to becoming foreign property managers at the end of 2024 after buying a 1,350-square-foot apartment for €78,000 in the province of Brescia, about an hour from Milan.
They're in the renovation process — which includes adding an entire kitchen — and expect to pay around €25,000 once they're done. Beigle, 38, and Krstevski, 39, who live in Washington, DC, said their all-in costs of about €103,000 would barely cover a down payment in the city. (According to Redfin.com, the median price for a condo in Washington, DC, was $480,000 as of May 2025).
"We could buy a condo in DC for $500,000 and put a $200,000 down payment, and then for 30 years we have to pay $4,000 a month," Beigle told Business Insider. Investing in rental property in Italy "just made sense."
They paid in cash, so there's no mortgage involved, and while the property isn't ready for guests yet, they've already mapped out their expected revenue. They've found that in their region, by Lake Iseo, units rent for €100 per night on average, and they're hoping for 50% occupancy throughout the year.
They'd been looking to buy a condo in DC for a while, but Beigle couldn't wrap her head around the prices she was seeing. Italy offered an invigorating alternative.
"My advice is: think outside the box a little bit," she said. "The traditional save up your money, put a down payment in and have a 30-year mortgage, and just continue the rat race is outdated in my opinion."
The journey of buying and renovating a home overseas hasn't been easy, but Beigle said it was the right choice for her.
"I couldn't be happier," she said. "And I feel really motivated to spread that message, too."
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