An idyllic Sicilian village has been ‘revitalised’ after selling off houses for £1, the mayor has revealed.
The depopulated village Sambuca di Sicilia has seen a huge surge in demand for its properties since the first two auctions in 2019 and 2021.
‘Foreigners are flocking to buy our homes, it’s been a hit so far,’ Giuseppe Cacioppo, the village’s newly-elected mayor, told CNN.
‘The two batches of houses, owned by the town hall, revitalized the private real estate sector. People rushing to grab one at auction but didn’t make the final cut bought a cheap house instead. So far, 250 homes have been sold.’
The third batch of the ultra cheap homes – comprised of 12 properties – is about to go up for sale with a starting price of £2.50.
The depopulated village Sambuca di Sicilia has seen huge demand for its properties when they were auctioned off in 2019 and 2021
The third batch of the ultra cheap homes – comprised of 12 properties – is about to go up for sale with a starting price of £2.50
Sambuca’s location is one of its prime selling points as it is close to major Sicilian attractions like the Valley of the Temples and the seaside towns of Sciacca and Menfi
This picture shows the village church, in the area where the homes are on sale
To take part in the auction, prospective owners will have to put down a £4,200 deposit guarantee to secure the home if they win the bid.
Cacioppo said the one- to three-bedroom houses are all ‘structurally stable’ and only need a makeover, which new owners would have to complete within three years or they risk losing their deposit guarantee.
The properties are mostly built with the a golden-brown stone common in the area and spread over one to three floors on 540 to 860 square feet, with traditional features like balconies, old wooden doors and decorated arches and windows.
The makeovers could cost anywhere between £25,000 to £170,000 depending on the condition of the property.
The first batch went up for just £1 and the second for nearly £2 and attracted buyers from all over the world.
This resulted in an influx of £17million into the local economy, with new bed and breakfasts, shops as well as contracts with builders, architexts, interior designers, surveyors and notaries bringing in a big turnover.
Sambuca’s location is one of its prime selling points as it is close to major Sicilian attractions like the Valley of the Temples and the seaside towns of Sciacca and Menfi.
The success of the scheme in Sambuca is attributed to the fact that they actually own the abandoned properties they are auctioning off, as other towns who wanted to sell their empty homes for cheap first had to track down the actual owners.
After an earthquake in 1969, which caused locals to flee the town, authorities in Sambuca took over abandoned houses following a new law being introduced in Rome to allow villages to take ownership of these properties.
This is one of the homes in the village of Sambuca di Sicilia which has been put on the market for one euro – just 87p – in the hopes it can help repopulate the area
The former mayor of Sambuca, Leo Ciaccio, shows one of the properties for sale in 2019
The sales comes with a caveat that prospective buyers have three years to refurbish the homes for at least £13,000
The village of Sambuca was named Italy’s most beautiful in 2016
The village authorities said they had been approached by non-Italians looking to move to Sicily
While the one euro homes need refurbishing, the other parts of the village are well maintained
This allows for a fast and smooth sale, as no owners need to be tracked down to liaise with buyers.
In the two previous auctions, the homes were sold for averages between £4,200 and £8,400, with the cheapest going for just £1 and the most expensive ones for more than £21,000.
Some of the buyers even bought several properties in Sambuca, like adjacent homes they could add together and turn into one big house.
Many of the owners are from the US and these expats have helped turn the village into a ‘Little America’, where even the oldest locals speak English with a Sicilian accent, according to CNN.
Cacioppo said Sambuca was further put ‘on the map’ after the town hall installed remote-working spaces and strengthened its wifi network to attract those able to work from home.
Among the happy new owners, which purchased one of the properties during a previous auction, is Meredith Tabbone, a financial advisor from Chicago.
Following extensive work, the 1600s house – which had no electricity or running water – has now been fitted out with a spa, outdoor kitchen and wine cellar.
‘The house was in very bad condition – but in many ways, it was everything I expected it to be and more,’ the 45-year-old financial advisor said. ‘It had so much charm.’
Meredith purchased the home in 2019, which had a starting bid of £1, and offered £4,380 for the building in Sambuca di Sicilia.
A couple from Maryland, US, transformed their ultra cheap auction property into a stunning £195,000 Renaissance-style palazzo
Massoud Ahmadi, 70, and his wife Shelley, 60, ended up buying an abandoned 18th century townho
The owners say ‘the balance of the house is basically re-done and it gives you a mix of modern and historic’
Quizzed on his advice to others considering the same move, Massoud said: ‘I’d definitely recommend doing what we’ve done. Be patient, take your time and work with the locals’
The timing of the £1 home scheme was serendipitous, with Meredith researching how to get an Italian citizenship to move to Europe in 2016. She had discovered her father Michael’s great-grandfather, Fillippo Tabbone, came from Sambuca di Sicilia.
When she first saw the 750-square-foot house, it was completely unlivable, with an asbestos-filled roof and no windows.
After spending £670 to fix the roof in an environmentally friendly way, she purchased the building next door in August 2020 to make a 3,000-square-foot property.
‘At first, the plan was just to turn it into a small getaway house,’ Meredith recalled. ‘While we originally just wanted it as a tiny getaway – we’ve turned it into a dream home.’
It took five years and £384,000 for Meredith to renovate the vacation home, fitting it out with all the bells and whistles.
A couple from Maryland, US, transformed their ultra cheap auction property into a stunning £195,000 Renaissance-style palazzo.
Massoud Ahmadi, 70, and his wife Shelley, 60, ended up buying an abandoned 18th century townhouse in the village for just £8,200 at the sale and immediately set to work doing it up.
The crumbling internal walls were stained brown and the rooms were packed full of old junk, including a retro pram.
Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco renovated a 200-year-old home that she purchased as part of the TV show My Big Italian Adventure
‘When I saw the article that you could buy a house in Sambuca for one euro, I jumped on it. So, I came on the plane. I bought the house,’ Lorraine said
‘I believe life is an adventure,’ Lorraine said as she took on the massive renovation project in Sambuca di Sicilia
They spent £155,000 on the once ‘uninhabitable’ three-story property, with some of the bigger investments being a new staircase, installing new plumbing and repairing the roof.
Initially Massoud ‘couldn’t fathom’ renovating the property within a three year deadline imposed by the council – but he pulled it off thanks to the help of local architects and artisans.
‘After’ photos show the two-bedroom, 2700-square-foot house has retained its original wooden windows, majolica tiled floor and vaulted double-barreled ceilings.
It also features three bathrooms, a living room and an open-plan marble kitchen. Topping things off, there is a roof terrace serving up mountain views.
Even Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco bought one of the properties in Sambuca di Sicilia, and renovated her 200-year-old home as part of a TV show called My Big Italian Adventure.
The house is a 1,075-square-foot property that needed plenty of TLC – there was no electricity, running water, kitchen or bathrooms. And the floors and roof also needed to be replaced as they had rotted.
When Lorraine arrived at the villa, it showed signs of longtime neglect. She said: ‘When I saw the article that you could buy a house in Sambuca for one euro, I jumped on it. So, I came on the plane. I bought the house.’
She added: ‘I’m very excited to be here, meet and work with the locals, and live amongst them. I’m here to pay homage to my family that comes from Sicily.’
