In several EU countries the issue of housing costs is at the center of the debate. We discuss green homes, with Italy and other states that are in infringement proceedings, short-term rentals and various building plans. Eurostat data has arrived on housing prices: in the second quarter of 2026, house prices in the EU increased by 4.7% and rents increased by 3% compared to the second quarter of 2025. The Italian data is in line with the EU one.
Compared to the first quarter of 2026, house prices increased by 1.2% and rents by 0.7%. Between 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, again according to Eurostat, house prices in the EU increased by 4.1% and rents by 2.6%. At the national level, comparing the second quarter of 2026 with the annual average for 2025, house prices increased faster than rents in 18 EU countries.
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Eurostat data also shows that in 2025 - compared to 2024 - home sales in the EU increased in most countries for which data is available. In Italy the residential market closed the third quarter of 2026 with a drop in prices of 1.1%, to an average of 2,031 euros per square meter. On an annual basis, the balance remains positive, with 3.3% more than in September 2025, while on a monthly level - according to the idealista real estate portal - prices remain stable.
According to Vincenzo de Tommaso, head of research at idealista, the decline recorded in this quarter in Italy "reflects the delayed effect of the ECB's monetary tightening: still high interest rates translate into more expensive mortgages, reduce accessibility to credit and slow down part of the potential demand, in particular in peripheral areas and in the mid-range segments. The capitals, however, show greater resilience than expected".
For further information: House prices are growing, +4% in the second quarter: the greatest increase in Turin
Meanwhile, while the housing plan which became law last July proceeds, Giorgia Meloni's government is studying new measures to include in the budget. The intention, according to the hypotheses circulating, would be to allocate concessions for rent and the purchase of a first home above all to young people: on the table, for example, there would be a 5% flat rate tax for long-term rentals. "We need quality training, a safe and stable job, an adequate salary, a house at a fair price. Everything that creates the conditions for starting a family", the prime minister said in recent days.
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On the possible measures to be included in the Maneuver, the Deputy Minister of Economy Maurizio Leo gave some previews. “A measure that could be studied, financial resources permitting, are incentives for the purchase of the first home for under-36s, the extension of the possibility of applying VAT on the sale and rental of homes carried out by real estate sales and management companies, the reduction of the VAT rate from 10 to 5% for the rental of residential buildings (obviously with the exception of luxury properties) and the assimilation of residential buildings rented by construction companies, because today we have a distinction," he said.
While in Italy and Europe the debate on housing policies focuses on the difficulties of families, an analysis by the SoloAffitti Research Office on national data regarding evictions has become topical again. From what emerges, in 2024 the eviction orders issued by the judges in one year were over 40 thousand: approximately three out of four for non-payment or other causes. Furthermore, in 2024, 81,054 enforcement requests were presented to bailiffs, including those relating to decisions from previous years, while 21,337 evictions were actually carried out.
In 2024, compared to 2023, overall provisions grew by approximately 2%, while those classified for arrears or other causes decreased by approximately 2.2%. Enforcement requests increased by approximately 10%, while evictions actually carried out remained essentially stable.
Arrears, explains the study, remain the prevalent component, despite not recording an increase in the latest available annual comparison. Furthermore, even if the causes of arrears may be different and the data on evictions do not allow them to be distinguished, a picture of the economic difficulties linked to living emerges from the SoloAffitti survey on rentals: 37% of tenants report rents higher than their budget among the obstacles in finding a home, while 74% of owners declare that they have accrued - in their rental experiences - credits for unpaid rent.
The analysis also shows different methods in managing arrears: 43% of the responses indicate the start of an eviction procedure, 33% a direct agreement with the tenant to vacate the property, 17% a spontaneous restitution with rents still unpaid, 7% indicate the activation of a guarantee or a policy. The return of the keys, emerges from the analysis, therefore does not always coincide with the balance of the amount owed and sometimes, even if the house is vacated, an open debt remains: these are circumstances that do not fall within the eviction orders issued by the judges and which distort the counts.
"Eviction is the culmination of a situation that must be addressed much earlier – is the comment of Silvia Spronelli, CEO of SoloAffitti -. When a family is no longer able to afford the rent, the debt can grow to the point of making any solution difficult. And leaving the home does not necessarily mean having paid what is owed. This is why timely interventions are needed to support those in difficulty, together with tools that safeguard the continuity of payments".
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