Milan is the most expensive Italian city for rental rooms

The news probably comes as no surprise to out-of-town college students as they head out for the new academic year

The data analysis branch of Italy’s premier property listings website – Immobiliare Insights – has compiled its annual ranking that sheds light on the rental prices for rooms and shared rooms in the country. The results have shown that Milan remains the most expensive city in Italy to rent a single room in a shared apartment or a house, with the average price reaching 637 euros per month – an increase of 4% compared to 2023.

This information is particularly important to out-of-town students who are the prime market for this type of accommodation. The demand for single rooms is especially high at the end of the summer right before the new academic year is set to begin.

The most expensive neighbourhood in Milan is Garibaldi-Moscova-Porta Nuova, where a room costs on average 747 euros per month, followed by Porta Romana and Centrale-Repubblica with about 720 euros per month.

The room rental prices in Milan seem to defy common economic laws of supply and demand. The researchers found out that demand has actually dropped by 1% compared to the previous year yet this has not led to a corresponding drop in prices.

Prices for beds in shared rooms

The phenomenon of decreased demand reflects, according to experts, a tendency of students to prefer cheaper and more sustainable cities or those closer to their hometown, compared to the traditional choices of Milan, Rome and Bologna. 

However, a single room isn’t the smallest unit on the rental market. That unit would be a single bed in a shared room, which is another category sought after by the students on tighter budgets.

As for beds in double rooms, Milan remains the most expensive city with an average cost of 353 euros, followed by Rome with 283 euros, Naples, Bologna, Siena and Brescia.