Real estate in Italy can be divided into two main sectors: residential and commercial. The market is regulated by various professional organizations, including CONFEDILIZIA (representing property owners) and FIAIP (representing real estate agents).

Italy has historically faced issues with insufficient social housing, especially in urban areas, where a shortage of residential housing and poor construction quality persisted from the 19th century through the post-WWII period. Between the 1970s and 2016, the Italian real estate market experienced cyclical fluctuations. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the market saw a decline in 2020 but recovered in 2021 and 2022. The post-pandemic demand has shifted toward larger homes with private outdoor spaces.

The Italian real estate market is influenced by a cultural emphasis on family ownership of property, with homes often acquired through inheritance. This contrasts with more commercialized markets like those in the United States and the United Kingdom. Moreover, Italy has avoided the severe financial crises caused by overheated real estate markets that affected the U.S. and other European countries in the 20th and 21st centuries, with many scholars arguing that the Italian market is more stable and less prone to drastic price fluctuations.

Italy has always been a country rich in real estate, in particular, luxury property. In 2024, the total value of Italian real estate assets is estimated between 5,000 and 10,000 billion euros. However, recent studies in 2025 on the real estate sector suggest that the exact figure is 16 trillion euros. A figure that takes into account Italy's unique cultural heritage and the overall recent and ongoing investments for its protection. Furthermore, if the assets that reside in Italy but owned by the Catholic Church and the Vatican State are inserted, this estimate is raised at 25 trillions of euros.

In 2024, the Italian real estate market had a significant increase in the sale of residential homes with 15.8%, mortgages for purchase grew by 5.7% and prices increased by 7.8%. In addition, there was a strong increase in purchases by foreigners, mainly from Germany, as well as residents of the United States and the United Kingdom. A total of 8,100 transactions for a value of over 5 billion euros and an average purchase value of around 640 thousand euros. The purchase of luxury and prestigious properties by foreign residents does not only occur for residential or housing purposes, but also as a form of investment.

In 2024, over 75% of Italians will own at least one home. Investing in a residential or holiday home is seen by Italians as a good investment that provides stability and security throughout their lives.

In 2023, the total value of the real estate market in Italy was approximately 10.2 trillion US dollars or 9.0 trillion euros. Some analysts believe that this market will experience sustained growth in the next five to ten years, driven by foreign investment, urban planning, urban infrastructure development, urbanization, and sustainable development projects.

Real estate in Italy can be broadly divided into the commercial sector and residential sector, among which the residential sector accounts for more than half of the transactions in 2020.