DAILY POSTCARD | MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2026 |
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Dear International Living reader, Picture it… A marble-floored historic home you bought for the price of a used car. Breakfast in the piazza costs less than your morning latte back home. Your days unfold under a sun-washed sky, with time for coffee, a swim, a walk through winding cobblestone lanes. And every evening, you end your day with a glass of local wine that costs just a few euros but tastes like a fortune. These are the moments that turn from dream to daily life when you know where to look—and how to buy smart overseas. Recently, our real estate expert Ronan McMahon went live to reveal his ranking of the 25 best places in the world to buy real estate this year. (The full reveal event is now available to watch on demand. Get instant access to it here for $7.) On this 2026 Index are Italian towns where beautiful historic homes list from crazy prices like $20,000. These are places where you can live an incredibly rich life…for prices that look like someone forgot to add a digit. Below, Ronan tells you about these towns and why they offer some of the best-value real estate on the planet. Read on… | |
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Where in Italy Can You Still Buy for $20,000? |
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| You wake to the faint sound of church bells echoing through the hills. Morning light spills through your shutters, warm and golden. Below, cobblestones glisten from the night's dew. The air smells faintly of lemon blossom. |
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The village is stirring—an old Italian hill town where time seems to slow. |
You wander down narrow streets framed by flower-filled balconies. Around the corner, your café waits. The owner nods—your usual. An espresso, dark and strong. Just $1.50. Sipping your coffee, you picture the day ahead… Maybe a hike in the hills above the town. Or a swim in the Mediterranean, just 20 minutes away. Or perhaps skiing on the nearby slopes that still glimmer with spring snow. Then dinner in your favorite local spot, where handmade pasta with beef ragu and exceptional local wine costs less than $15. This is your life…rich and hugely affordable. And anchoring it all—a marble-floored historic home that cost less than the price of a used car. Right now, folks in the know are taking advantage of opportunities like this in Italy. When you know the right towns and the right real estate to buy, you can live a life that feels impossibly rich—yet costs astonishingly little. Last month, I revealed the RETA Index, my comprehensive guide to the best places in the world to buy in 2026. Creating the RETA Index takes a year of research and boots on the ground scouting. And you can get instant access for $7 here. Two destinations in the 2026 Index are in Italy. And both offer homes for insanely affordable pricing… |
There's a corner of Italy where you can own for less than the price of a used car and live an incredibly rich lifestyle. |
Across Italy, you'll find charming hill towns where homes sell for as little as $20,000. I'm not talking about ruins or shells—but livable stone houses with marble floors, thick walls, and wrought-iron balconies overlooking valleys that glow gold at sunset. This is exactly the kind of opportunity my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) team and I love to dig into. To get the inside track, I sent one of my scouts, Ciaran Madden, to put boots on the ground. Homes are so affordable because many of these small towns have seen decades of depopulation. But now something's changing… With the rise of remote work, foreign buyers from the U.S., U.K., Australia and beyond are snapping up historic homes and bringing new energy, businesses, and investment to certain select towns. Yet, because so many homes remain vacant, prices stay astonishingly low. In the right towns like these, you can still buy quality homes for $20 to $40 per square foot. Consider the opportunities my scout Ciaran found in Italy… Ciaran landed in one picturesque medieval town, a hilltop jewel dotted with church towers and carved stone homes. Set more than 2,000 feet above sea level in a lush valley, this town feels like a place out of time. Narrow cobbled streets wind through a warren of ancient houses. The sound of ancient echoes through the lanes and alleys. This town has seen an influx. Hundreds of foreign investors have bought homes here. More come all the time. The town estimates €20 million in new investment has flooded in. And yet right there, in the heart of the old town, Ciaran toured a three-story stone home listed for just €35,000—marble floors, tall ceilings, and a balcony overlooking the hills. Structurally sound, needing only updating. Even more remarkable? A corner property with a spiral staircase and balcony opening over the cobbled lanes—listed for €28,000! And you'll find even cheaper options for €17,000 ($20,000). This town holds incredible potential, but there's a place Ciaran liked even more… |
Ciaran also scouted a village that sits along a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean, within easy striking distance of a historic city with UNESCO World Heritage sites and golden beaches. This village is small, but it's a true, idyllic vision of small-town Italy—leafy, cobblestoned streets…colorful homes with wrought-iron balconies…centuries-old architecture…quaint cafés with people sitting outsides sipping espressos and playing checkers… And like the previous town, it's been discovered by foreign buyers. Local brokers told Ciaran that the buyers here include London stockbrokers and Stanford University professors… Here, homes are slightly pricier—but not by much. Ciaran toured a three-story home with panoramic sea views for just €35,000. Another home—four stories, historic character, balconies and rooftop terrace—was listed at €55,000. Think about that: homes with million-dollar views for less than the price of used car. And the holding costs? Tiny. I consider this Italian hill town play the best-value real estate opportunity on the planet. In the right town, you can buy below replacement cost and own something truly extraordinary. And as the world rediscovers these towns, prices will rise. That's why I've ranked select Italian hill towns No. 16 on The 2026 RETA Index, my definitive list of the 25 best places in the world to buy real estate next year. You can discover the name of these towns—and every other opportunity-filled location on my Index—instantly for just $7. When you claim access to the 2026 RETA Index now, you'll get: |
- The on-demand replay of the online reveal broadcast
- The complete 181-page 2026 RETA Index Report
- An extended 60-day RETA membership trial—including my research, scouting reports, and concierge access.
- Plus your personal Index tool that you can download and use to personalize the index to your preferences.
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Get instant access here. But hurry…access is only available until midnight tomorrow. |
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