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The number of students enrolled at the University of Bologna has been growing steadily since 2018. And the Covid pandemic in the middle seems not to have affected the trend. The website of the Ministry of University and Research reports this: 84,681 enrolled in the 2022-2023 academic year, compared to 80 thousand and just over in the 2018-2019 academic year. A state of health also confirmed by Alma Mater itself, which released some data last February, and by Censis, which in the latest ranking of Italian universities puts Unibo in first place.
The great attractiveness of the university has been coupled, in recent years, with a large flow of tourists. Bologna recorded a record number of tourists in 2023; furthermore, requests from foreign citizens who want to buy a house in Bologna – not just to live there – have increased by 133% in the last three years, the majority of whom are Americans. The product of this intersection is a general increase in housing prices and, at the same time, a reduction in available homes. Many property owners, in recent years, have converted their apartment from a ‘student home’ to a ‘tourist home’, given the greater income that short-term rentals guarantee. For students and young workers, therefore, finding a home has become more difficult, more expensive and more competitive.
Over the years, the real estate crisis has led thousands of students to demonstrations for the right to study and the right to live, as well as several occupations of abandoned public buildings and the famous tent protest, which took place not only in Bologna but also in many Italian cities.
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How the real estate market is changing
The growth in prices in the Bologna real estate market in recent years has been constant, and this concerns both the buying and selling market and the rental market. Obviously, the higher the value for purchasing a property, the higher the rent will be. Collecting data from the Revenue Agency, it can be seen that from the first half of 2019 to the second half of 2023 (latest data available) there was a substantial increase in house purchase prices, especially in the more peripheral areas or in quadrant near the university area.
In BologninaToday, a house can be purchased by spending from 1,850 euros to 3,200 euros per square meter, while in 2019 the maximum price per square meter was 2,800 euros; in the neighborhood Costa-Zaragoza, today’s spending varies from 2 thousand to 3,600 euros, while in 2019 the basic price was 1,700 euros up to a maximum of 2,800 euros. The only neighborhood where prices have remained stable is the Old Townwhere obviously prices were already very high in 2019.
In the second half of 2023, prices remained essentially unchanged compared to the beginning of the year (-0.1%). The historical data, according to a study by the Tecnocasa group, tell of a market that has had an unprecedented surge in the last ten years: from 2013 to 2023 the houses in outskirts they increased in price by 22.1%; those in semi-center by 34.2%; those in the historic center of 54.7%. A greater growth than the rest of the large Italian cities, as indicated by the graph shown here.
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As regards the areas, writes the Tecnocasa group when presenting the study relating to the changes in 2023 compared to the previous year, the “most dynamic area was that of the city center (+3.1%) thanks to the performance of Indipendenza -Marconi. The motivation must be found in the increase in demand for holiday homes and B&Bs, in light of the strong tourist flows present in the city. This is also causing a shift in demand for first homes towards areas close to the centre, such as Zaragoza, via Murri and via Andrea Costa”.
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Locations
As regards rents, Bologna is the fourth city in Italy for average price, behind only Milan, Rome and Florence. The average price obviously changes from area to area and from type of property. Other sources, such as the HousingAnywhere observatory, even speak of the greatest growth in Europe regarding the average price of a studio apartment: 1375 euros per month on average, with a growth of 25% compared to 2022.
To better understand how the rental market is changing, especially that of interest to students and young workers, we asked the opinion of two experts. The first is Federico Zaniboni, owner of the Tempocasa real estate agency in San Donato. “Demand has increased in recent years, as have prices. The upward trend has now been constant for several years. In Zone San Donato, one of the most requested areas by students, today a single room can be rented for no less than 500 euros per month, utilities excluded; a bed in a double room is around 350 euros per month. Until three or four years ago, however, the average price of a single room was 350-400 euros per month. And we’re talking about a few years ago.”
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More detailed point of view Daniele Fondrelli, which deals with properties in the historic center for Tecnocasa, including the university area. “In the field of rentals there has been an explosion in the tourism world in the last five years. We have suddenly become a tourist city and consequently everything is driven by this, including commercial activities, which are largely restaurants, and the accommodation market. Apartments intended for short-term rentals are very popular, whether they are entire houses or just rooms. This complicates life for ordinary renters: if a family can’t afford to buy a house they want to rent, they can’t find anything in the center now. For students it is even worse: we have had cases of students who have had to go to live in the province, even very far away, and who study in the centre. There are no solutions, and if there are we are talking about rooms in large, rundown apartments, which are not ideal for tourist rentals and perhaps the property takes advantage of this and rents rooms anyway even if the quality is low. In summary: the offer is limited, the quality is low and the prices are very high”.
“The average prices – continues Fondrelli – the rooms cost no less than 500-550 euros for a single, but I have also seen mind-boggling things, such as rooms rented for 700 euros a month. If we talk about beds the price is 350-400 euros in a double room. And this in apartments. However, if we talk about private student residences, there are studio apartments that cost no less than a thousand euros a month. Of course, there are related services such as common areas, the study room, the gym. But we’re talking about a thousand euros: it’s a disgrace, a salary isn’t enough.”
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Short term rentals
As regards short-term rentals, Airbnb it is the platform that is changing the face of the historic center of several cities in Italy, including Bologna. From this year the Municipality of Bologna has begun to equip itself with tools to limit the jungle of short-term rentals, such as the limit on the nights that can be rented or the minimum square footage, especially for new businesses. “This should generate, according to the Municipality’s policy, an excess of apartments that cannot be used for tourism and which therefore can go on the ordinary market” concludes Fondrelli.
