Student rentals, smaller centres make room in the market

"The marked growth in terms of supply for cities like Bergamo and Brescia," Intini continues, "can be traced back to the increasingly difficult accessibility of Milan. This, on the one hand, has attracted more students to nearby academic centres that are just as good in terms of educational offerings, and on the other, it has positioned the two cities as more sustainable and well-connected housing alternatives to the regional capital".

In the rest of Italy, availability in Venice has increased more than fivefold; however, the supply of rooms in relation to total Italian availability is just under 1 per cent. Rome, in second place behind Milan in terms of total room supply in Italy, with 17.4 per cent, is only up by 10 per cent compared to 2019. Turin follows, although with a much lower percentage of stock, at 6.2 per cent (over the years, however, it has almost tripled, +186 per cent).

Bologna follows in fourth place, where 4.4 per cent of the Peninsula's room availability is concentrated: here, the offer has grown fourfold over the time period analysed (+289 per cent). Florence follows at 2%, with a much less pronounced growth in the period, of 65%.

With stock percentages still above 1 per cent of the Italian total, there is then Verona (1.9 per cent) - where the availability of rooms has increased almost fivefold since 2019 (+388 per cent) - Naples (1.8 per cent), Genoa (1.4 per cent) - here the supply has doubled - and Catania (1.3 per cent).

"The supply of rooms continues to increase throughout the country," Intini continues. "Certainly this growth is also due to a progressive phenomenon of 'industrialisation' of the sector that has occurred in recent years, with the entry into the market of companies that deal exclusively with offering rooms for rent. In fact, private landlords, who previously tended to manage flats divided into rooms of their own, are now increasingly relying on expert agencies that take care of every aspect related to renting, from maintenance to tenant entry and exit paperwork".

The district of Milan where the largest supply of rooms is concentrated is Città Studi, home of the Politecnico, with 6 per cent; it is followed by Bovisa, which hosts one of its branches, with 3 per cent.

As far as Rome is concerned, it is the Bologna district that hosts the majority of rooms, 6.2 per cent, followed by the neighbouring district of Africano-Villa Chigi at 5.2 per cent: both are located in the immediate vicinity of La Sapienza University.

Also in Naples, the areas of the city with the highest concentration of rooms are close to a university site, the Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Federico II: Arenella (13%) and Capodimonte (7.4%).

In Bologna, on the other hand, the areas of the city with the highest stock of rooms are Bolognina (10 per cent) and Massarenti (9.7 per cent), both just outside the city centre.

Milan confirms its position as the least affordable city in terms of prices, but Bologna and Florence, in second and third place for the cost of a single room, are also achieving significant figures: 524 euro and 517 euro respectively. Just off the podium is Rome, where to have a room to yourself you have to spend 492 euros on average. Close on the heels of the big centres are three smaller cities, namely Padua, at 482 euro, Bergamo, at 447 euro, and Brescia, at 431 euro.