Biccari, Italy: 'We have set up an online catalogue of houses from 1 to 30,000 euros'

1 euro houses Italy

The village of Biccari is located in Apulia, in the province of Foggia. A town of 2,600 inhabitants with a medieval feel, it is surrounded by rich and fertile nature (such as Lake Pescara and Mount Cornacchia). Here the 1 euro house project is struggling to get off the ground because people coming from abroad prefer to buy homes in a better state of preservation, and not in need of such serious work. We talk about this with the mayor, Gianfilippo Mignogna.

Tell us about the 1 euro house project in Biccari

We actually have a different project compared to other cities, in that we prepared an online catalogue of houses from 1 euro up to 30 thousand euros. This was because we realised that many foreigners were asking us for houses that were “more ready” than the 1 euro ones: they were afraid of the problems of having to manage a serious renovation from afar. Just think of the bureaucracy or the extent of the project, to give you an example. So, since we also had houses in the old town centre that did not need to be completely renovated but only needed minor maintenance, we thought we would expand the project to include this type of property as well.

How many properties have you sold?

We have sold about 40 in total. However we have not sold any of the 1 euro houses yet: we have 3in the catalogue. They have been seen by many potential interested parties, I must say, but we have not sold any.

Have you put strict conditions on them? I’ll give you an example: in other villages, the buyer has to commit to finishing the renovation within 36 months. Perhaps this may have discouraged buyers.

No, we have not placed any residency or restructuring obligations. The people who buy our houses can decide what to do with them. Nevertheless, we have people who want to move here as soon as they retire, others who simply want to have a second home here to come and spend longer or shorter periods in Italy. Others are planning to rent them out. These are people coming from Germany, Argentina, Peru, Portugal, America and Russia. Obviously also some are from Italy. This is also important for us for the cultural growth of our small community.

So why do you think that the 1 euro house scheme is struggling to take off in Biccari?

The truth is that we concentrated on the requests that seemed most interesting to us from the point of view of human and social relations. So all those who simply asked us for a house for one euro, we put them in the background compared to those who took the time to send us photos of their family or explained what they would like to do with respect to our community.

We say that our project starts with the property, but in reality it is a project that aims to regenerate the community.

How does the house buying process work in Biccari?

We have made everything much more streamlined and I must say with less formality. In the sense that we have obtained properties from private individuals, who in many cases have different situations where the property as become a burden. We then created an online catalogue and presented it on CNN because we wanted it to be aimed at a foreign market. Those interested can contact our manager. Then we make calls, eventually we host visits to the village and show those who are interested around for a few days, so that they also get to experience a little bit of the reality of our village.

And this will also have generated a good amount of income in Biccari, I imagine

That’s right. The sum of all the purchase and sale deeds to date has yielded approximately 650,000 euros. On the other hand, all works in progress, executed or estimated, add up to 1.3 million euros. So we have generated about 2 million euros in economic activity in our country. And don’t underestimate the social aspect: in a town at risk of depopulation, having new citizens arriving from afar, integrating and bringing their experience, their skills, is important.

So a new community is emerging thanks to the houses then?

Certainly. These people who have arrived in Biccari have integrated very easily, since the town is small and it is easy to get to know pretty much everyone. The fact that they have to do work also helps them to get in touch immediately with local builders and workers.

We have realised that the objective is never to score a real estate deal, but to create an alternative to their context: consider that many of these buyers often come from foreign metropolises. The idea is always to have a small retreat in a small Italian village where they can relax, eat well, do sport surrounded by nature and also nurture new human relationships. This attracts people a lot. We have seen that it is the main motivation, more than the property itself.

Does the number of available houses meet the demand?

In 2021 we started with 20 houses and it seemed like a huge amount. Now of course there are more, because the owners have seen that the idea works. There are still quite a few empty houses, let’s say. About ten of them we rent out with a parallel project that helps to bring more people in.