
In the second half of 2023, rents in Italy increased by an average of 10 per cent and, on average, rental property advertisements in 9 per cent of cases remain online for just 24 hours. In order to analyse the current scenario and to pass the magnifying glass over the different markets, idealista/data took a close look at which are the most expensive and most popular locations in Italy to rent a house in the second quarter of 2023. Let's find out the picture that emerges from the report.
The study, in detail, focused on the advertisements published on idealist, Italy's leading real estate portal. The report examined the data available for municipalities that have advertisements with an asking price of more than 875 €/m2 on average and for which there is a stock of more than 975 property advertisements for sale on idealista (and more than 50 for rent).
Thanks to this analysis, it was possible to rank the 100 municipalities that generated the most leads (e-mail contacts and shares) per advertisement and those where the average rent is highest. Let's find out what the sketched scenario is.
The most expensive places to rent a house
The most expensive municipality in Italy for those looking to rent a house coincides with the most expensive one for buying a house (as was also the case in the previous quarter): Forte dei Marmi, where it takes an average of €5,896 per month to rent a property for residential use, an increase on the previous quarter. A demand that makes this Versilia location decidedly exclusive and with a strong tourist vocation.
Ranking of houses for rent on idealista in Q2 2023
Top 20 most expensive places to rent a house (average monthly rent)

On the second step of the podium we find another resort in the province of Lucca, Pietrasanta (€4,051 per month on average), while third place goes to Riccione (€3,532 per month). The first three places in this special ranking, as is easy to observe, are occupied by locations with a strong impact and tourist appeal which, inevitably, ends up weighing on the rental market.
Just off the podium, after Cervia (€2,395 per month) we find Fiumicino (on the outskirts of Rome) and Camaiore. Also entering the top 10 are Desenzano del Garda, Pesaro, Anzio (also in the province of Rome) and Florence.
To find Milan you have to scroll down the ranking to 12th place, with an average demand of €1,559 per month for house rental ads published on idealista. Rome, on the other hand, ranks 21st (€1,241 per month). While the most expensive municipality in southern Italy is Olbia, where one spends an average of €1,496 euro per month to rent a house.
The most popular locations to rent a house
Furthermore, idealista/data implemented an indicator summarising the pressure of demand on supply in each area of Italy for the rental housing segment. The indicator is based on the number of leads (e-mail contacts and shares) received per advertisement.
Ranking of houses for rent on idealista in Q2 2023
The top 20 of the most requested places to rent a house (average number of contacts received per advertisement)

According to the relative demand index compiled by idealista/data, the greatest demand for rented houses, in the second quarter of 2023, is concentrated in Forlì, which totals an average of 42.4 contacts per ad. Completing the podium in the ranking of the most popular municipalities are Reggio Emilia and Cesena (39.7), for a top 3 all in Emilia-Romagna.
The top ten most popular municipalities for those looking for a house to rent include Verona (36.3), Prato (32.8), Mestre (32.1), Brescia (29.3), Padua (28.5), Vigevano (28.3) and Parma (26.5).