Sicily gained prominence as one of the first places in the country to sell old houses for one euro.
Now, according to CNN, the region is becoming a kind of “Little America”, after the wave of North Americans who moved to the city of Sambuca after having acquired properties at a real bargain.
The Sicilian city began attracting foreign buyers in 2019 when it began selling houses for 1 euro each. Later, in July last year, it put 10 more old buildings up for sale for a symbolic price of 2 euros.
In November, when the second deadline for applications ended, the municipality was again flooded with hundreds of orders of interested foreign buyers. The houses ended up being auctioned, with a value between 500 and 7.000 euros.
The deputy mayor revealed to CNN that almost all new buyers are from the United States. “Let's say that almost 80% of the people who wrote to us, applied and participated in this second auction either come from the United States or are North American”, said Giuseppe Cacioppo.
“There is a lot of interest from American buyers. The pandemic has been a challenge in carrying out this new sale, but we have been lucky. Everything went well”, added the head of the municipality.
David Waters, an Idaho businessman, wants to renovate his newly acquired Sicilian homes through through crowdfunding and then, donate them.
“I wanted to create a way for new investors to support smaller communities like Sambuca”, explained the North American. “I want to make it possible for anyone who wants to realize their dream of owning a piece of Italian history can do just that.”
