Palazzo - Edificio in Polistena
Edificio composto da piano terra 1 piano con 2 camere e un bagno e piano superiore da completare
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Not before the basics are done
In the listingNeeds renovation- On the market for a long time
See what needs doing and what each job costs
At €35,000 for 80 sqm, the ask is €438/sqm, but with a typical needs-renovation cost of about €700/sqm the effective cost is roughly €1,138/sqm, far above the low-stock baseline of €376/sqm for Calabria palazzi. The description also says the upper floor is still to be completed, and after 528 days on market this price has likely already been tested by buyers.
More on the house and the area
This is a very cheap, real house rather than a ruin, with floors, windows, a basic kitchen area, bedrooms and a bathroom already present. But it is visually plain, with a worn facade and some incomplete/rough spaces, so the dream factor is limited. It feels more like a practical budget project than a beautiful Italian home fantasy.
Certified wiring, water and drainage, a heat source, a roof that keeps the water out, one working bathroom. Facade, insulation, a second bathroom and the floors wait.
All the services redone, bathrooms, kitchen, windows. The structure is left alone.
Our read of the photos, €700/m², falls in this band.
Turnkey, facade and insulation included.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€16,000 – €28,000
Wiring, water and sanitary work of any kind, heating, air conditioning and gas go to a registered firm by law, and so do flues and the air openings for gas appliances. That labour stays in the bill. Yours is the stripping out, plaster, paint, floors, tiling and carpentry.
Labour is 61% of a renovation price on average and 67% at the median, across 191 items of the Emilia-Romagna 2025 public price list. Materials are the rest. An averaged price list, not a quote.
Materials you buy yourself carry 22% VAT; supplied by the firm doing the work they go at the 10% renovation rate. On a €30,000 materials bill that is €3,600 of extra tax.
Household wiring installed before 13 March 1990 counts as compliant if it has a main breaker with overcurrent protection, protection against direct contact and a 30 mA RCD. Having a firm bring the existing wiring up to that and certify it is the cheapest lawful route.
Bringing a house that has stood empty back into service: new water, sewer and electricity, plus the practices. The same sum on an 80 m² house and on a 300 m² one, which is why a €40,000 house is not a €40,000 project.
Show more
Water 1,800 · sewer 2,500 · electricity 700–1,600 · CILA 1,000 · cadastral filing 500 · structural design 700 · Legge 10 report 900 · safety coordination 1,800
No mains drain: add €2,000–4,500 for a septic tank. Listings never say, so ask.
- Interiors are basic and somewhat unfinished, especially the ground-floor living/kitchen area.
- Upper floor is described as to be completed, so usable space may be less than the headline size.
- Exterior facade looks tired and will need renovation.
- No view, terrace, garden, or notable character is shown in the photos.
Estimate from the listing and its photos, not a survey. Treat it as the starting point for your own quotes. An Italian builder's quote is normally written without VAT and without design fees, so add about a quarter to any figure a firm gives you.
The area around
Location score 58/100The cluster sits in the Gioia Tauro plain at the foot of the Aspromonte massif. The Metramo valley cuts into the hills around Polistena, and the lower slopes above the plain are planted with olives and citrus. The Aspromonte National Park begins farther inland on the mountain side, with higher forest and ridge landscapes beyond the immediate plain. The Tyrrhenian coast is nearby but not within the immediate 15 km landscape. The nearest larger centre is Gioia Tauro on the plain, with port and rail services; Palmi is another nearby town with everyday services. This area is known for olive groves and citrus cultivation on the plain below Aspromonte.