A decision guide by goal: living, retiring, renting out, or restoring a ruin. Which country fits which goal, which residency route applies, and what the prices look like, without repeating our full cost comparison.
The honest answer to Spain or Italy is that it depends on what you want the property to do. Our Italy versus Spain comparison covers buying costs, taxes and rules side by side. This guide starts from your goal and tells you which country usually fits it. Numbers below come from 2026 adviser and portal pages and vary by source, so treat them as ranges.
Quick answer by goal
- Live there most of the year and want the easiest practical start: Spain, for its larger foreign-buyer market and standard process
- Hold for many years and sell later: Italy, because there is no capital gains tax after five years, against a flat 19% for a non-resident in Spain (both figures from our comparison)
- Retire on a pension: both work, with different visas and tax routes (below)
- Rent out to tourists: both are tightening; check the exact property and city first
- Restore a ruin: Italy and Spain both have them, with different traps
If you want to live there
Spain has more foreign buyers, more English-speaking services and a mortgage market that lends to non-residents; see our Spain mortgage guide. Italy is more regional and document-heavy, and a non-EU buyer must pass the reciprocity check described in the comparison.
Prices look like this (aggregator ranges, which differ by source). Spain: foreign buyers paid about 2,429 euro per m² on average in March 2026; Madrid roughly 3,800 to 5,500, Valencia roughly 2,000 to 3,200, the Costa del Sol roughly 2,500 to 4,000. Italy: national average about 2,100 to 2,200 euro per m²; Milan roughly 4,500 to 7,000, Rome roughly 3,000 to 5,000. We found no reliable current figures for Puglia, Sicily, Tuscany or the lakes, so compare listings in the exact town. Details: Spain prices and Italy prices.
If you want to retire
Spain: the non-lucrative visa needs passive income of about 2,400 euro a month for the main applicant and about 600 for each dependant in 2026, with no property purchase required. Agencies differ on whether 12 or 14 payments count, and consulates differ, so ask yours. The investor visa for property was abolished on 3 April 2025.
Italy: the elective residence visa has no fixed legal figure; consulates reportedly look for about 31,000 to 32,000 euro a year for one person, passive income only, with accommodation and private health insurance. Italy also has a 7% flat tax on foreign income for foreign pensioners who move to a qualifying southern municipality, expanded in 2026 to larger towns. It reportedly requires five prior years of non-residence and runs up to ten tax years; sources differ on how many towns qualify, so get the list from an Italian tax adviser. Our guides retiring in Spain and retiring in Italy go deeper.
If you want rental income
Spain requires a national registration number for every short-term rental since 1 July 2025, and some cities restrict new licences. Italy requires a national CIN code and guest registration, with fines for missing safety equipment. Read Spain short-term rental rules and Italy short-term rental rules before you count on holiday income, and check whether the specific building allows it.
If you want a ruin
Both countries have cheap, characterful stock, and the headline price is rarely the real cost. Start with Italy: abandoned houses and 1-euro homes and Spain: abandoned villages and ruins, then budget the works using the Italy restoration costs and permits and Spain restoration costs and permits guides.
When to choose which
- Choose Spain if a mortgage, an established expat infrastructure and a straightforward purchase matter most
- Choose Italy if you plan a long hold, want a specific region or a ruin, or can use the southern pensioner tax route
- Choose neither yet if you cannot say which of the four goals above is yours: write down the purpose first, then compare two specific towns, not two countries
Questions to settle before you decide
- How many months a year will you really spend there
- Is residency a goal, or only the property
- How long will you hold, and what will the sale tax be
- Do you need a mortgage, and from which bank
- Does the building or city allow the use you plan
See also our Spain capital gains tax guide and Italy capital gains tax guide.
FAQ
Which is cheaper to buy, Spain or Italy? On national averages Italy, but the spread inside each country is wider than the gap between them. Can a non-EU citizen buy in both? Spain is open; Italy applies a reciprocity rule, so check your nationality. Does buying give residency? Not in Spain since April 2025; in Italy the investor routes are company or bond investments, not property. Which is better for rental income? Neither by default: it depends on the city and licence. Which has better taxes when I sell? Italy after five years, per our comparison.
How we help
We help you turn the purpose into a short list of towns and introduce local lawyers and tax advisers. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Figures come from public sources at the time of writing and rules change, so confirm them before you act.