Florence · Go deeper
Cost & housing
Florence is one of Italy’s pricier cities to live in, more than the south, less than Milan. Housing is the big variable, and it swings hard by neighbourhood and by how central you want to be. Something is changing here, though, and it’s worth knowing about. The range follows, and so does where to check live prices yourself.
Renting
These are for a decent, functional apartment with a real kitchen and a lift. Cheaper exists if you compromise on condition or location. And rents here have started falling, down about 2% in a year, which hasn’t happened in a long time.
Buying
Up 5.43% in a year, and forecast to pass €5,000 a square metre during 2026. Florence is among the fastest-rising markets in Italy.
Other monthly costs
Utilities are a national market in Italy, so that range holds roughly anywhere.
Our take
Florence rewards people who don’t need to live inside the postcard. Move a little out from the tourist core, across the river or into the residential quarters, and your housing money goes much further, while you’re still walking distance or a short tram ride from the centre.
And something is shifting. For a decade the story here was that Airbnb ate the housing. Florence is the first Italian city to take it back and make it stick. The Constitutional Court upheld Tuscany’s law in December 2025, and in May 2026 the courts threw out all nineteen challenges to the city’s own rules. The historic centre is now capped at the flats that were already let short-term in 2024. No new ones. It’s being called the Barcelona model, and it’s becoming the national template.
Rents are already down about 2% on the year. Nobody knows yet how far it goes.
Prices move with the market. Always check live listings. See current rentals on Idealista › | See prices on Immobiliare ›