Rooms, rising prices since 2020. In some university towns they have risen by more than 50 per cent

Bad news for university students looking for accommodation. With Matura just around the corner and some entrance tests already taken, this is the time when students start looking for accommodation in view of the start of the next academic year. But in the last six years, single room prices in Italia have risen drastically: Bari, Cagliari and Palermo register the most significant peaks, but the picture of the phenomenon frames all the main Italian cities.

These are the data collected in the latest Insights report of the Immobiliare.it portal. "That of rooms is one of the most lively segments of the real estate market," commented Paolo Giabardo, general manager of Immobiliare.it. "However, the sector does have one critical element, namely that the same target responsible for demand such as students and young workers does not have adequate income to support the cost of a rental.

Boom in demand, but little supply. The cities hosting the country's ten state-owned mega-universities saw prices for single rooms increase by an average of 41% between March 2020 and March 2026, a full 10 percentage points higher than the increase for studios over the same period.

Black jersey for Bari and Palermo, which record +59% and +55% respectively. Third place for Padua and Florence, which record a +46% instead. It is Turin that is off the podium with a result of +45%, while in Rome prices have risen by 40%. Bologna, Naples and Milan also show significant increases of between 30% and 40%: in the capital Emiliano-Romagnolo, for example, anyone wishing to rent a room today should expect to spend an average of 37% more than in March 2020, while in Naples and Milan the growth amounts to 36% and 31% respectively. The least marked change among mega universities is in Pisa, where the cost of a single room has increased by 16%.

Looking at the other state universities, the increase in rent for a bed in the last six years is around +31%. Cagliari's +58% stands out, ahead of Messina with +46% and Genoa at +41%. Trento and Catania remain just below the threshold, registering +39% in both cases, while Venice and Perugia both grew by 35%. They are followed by Ferrara (+30%), Parma (+29%), Verona (+25%) and Pavia (+20%).