Puglia is still one of the more affordable places in Italy to buy a home by the sea, but “affordable” covers a wide range. The same €200,000 buys a roomy townhouse in southern Salento and a compact flat in Polignano a Mare. This guide turns the latest asking prices into something you can picture: how many square meters each budget buys, town by town.
All prices are average asking prices per square meter from Immobiliare.it, Italy’s largest listings portal, for September 2026, checked on 24 October 2026. They describe what sellers are asking, not what buyers finally pay, and they mix every kind of home in each town.
The short answer
Across the whole region, the average asking price in September 2026 was €1,456 per square meter, so €100,000 buys about 69 m², €200,000 about 137 m² and €400,000 about 275 m² on paper. Our verdict: for most buyers, €200,000 is the budget where Puglia opens up. It buys a full family-sized house in the Salento and the Murgia towns, or a good two-bedroom apartment in Lecce, and it still leaves room for the taxes and the renovation most older homes need.
At €100,000 you are mostly looking at small apartments in the cities or older houses that need work in quieter towns. At €400,000 you can choose: a sea-view apartment in the most sought-after coastal towns, or a house with land, a restored trullo or a small masseria inland.
What each budget buys, town by town
The table divides each budget by the town’s average asking price. Treat it as a guide to scale, not a quote. A restored old-town home or a sea view can cost well above the town average, and a house in the countryside that needs a new roof can cost well below it.
| Town | Average asking price (€/m²) | €100k buys about | €200k buys about | €400k buys about | Homes listed for sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tricase | €963 | 104 m² | 208 m² | 415 m² | 153 |
| Taranto | €964 | 104 m² | 207 m² | 415 m² | 1,625 |
| Martina Franca | €1,314 | 76 m² | 152 m² | 304 m² | 963 |
| Ceglie Messapica | €1,379 | 73 m² | 145 m² | 290 m² | 810 |
| Nardò | €1,439 | 69 m² | 139 m² | 278 m² | 528 |
| Lecce | €1,673 | 60 m² | 120 m² | 239 m² | 1,034 |
| Alberobello | €1,851 | 54 m² | 108 m² | 216 m² | 103 |
| Gallipoli | €1,935 | 52 m² | 103 m² | 207 m² | 544 |
| Otranto | €2,235 | 45 m² | 89 m² | 179 m² | 121 |
| Bari | €2,344 | 43 m² | 85 m² | 171 m² | 3,208 |
| Monopoli | €2,581 | 39 m² | 77 m² | 155 m² | 705 |
| Ostuni | €2,591 | 39 m² | 77 m² | 154 m² | 1,500 |
| Polignano a Mare | €2,864 | 35 m² | 70 m² | 140 m² | 236 |
Source: Immobiliare.it market data, residential asking prices for September 2026; listing counts as shown on each town page on 24 October 2026 (Monopoli on 23 October). Square meters are rounded and exclude purchase costs.
A few patterns stand out. The Bari coast and the white towns around Ostuni sit at the top, with Polignano a Mare, Ostuni and Monopoli all above €2,500 per square meter. Lecce, the capital of the Salento, asks €1,673. And quieter Salento towns such as Tricase still ask under €1,000.
Around €100,000: a city flat or a project in a small town
In Lecce, €100,000 buys roughly 60 m² at the city average, which is a one-bedroom apartment or a small two-bedroom outside the historic center. Our guide to living in Lecce covers the neighborhoods and what daily life costs there. In Taranto and Tricase the same money stretches to around 100 m², often an older townhouse with a terrace.
What locals actually do at this budget is look at the casa indipendente (a house with its own entrance, often on two floors with a roof terrace) in the old centers of smaller towns. These homes are often priced to reflect the work they need, so a building survey before you commit is money well spent.
Around €200,000: the budget where Puglia opens up
At €200,000 the choice becomes interesting. In Martina Franca, Ceglie Messapica or Nardò it buys about 140 to 150 m², enough for a three-bedroom house. In Alberobello it buys around 108 m², and the trulli in the countryside around it come in a wide range of prices; our guide to buying a trullo explains the permits and renovation questions that come with one. In Monopoli it buys about 77 m², a comfortable two-bedroom; our guide to Monopoli as a base covers trains, beaches and rents.
If you are planning to retire here, check the towns that qualify for Italy’s 7% flat tax for foreign pensioners before you choose. Ceglie Messapica, Alberobello, Gallipoli and Ostuni from our table are all on that list, and our guide to the 7% tax towns in Puglia has the full 2026 list.
Around €400,000: sea views or land
At €400,000 the coast is open to you. In Polignano a Mare, Ostuni or Monopoli the town average works out at 140 to 155 m², and you can aim for a renovated apartment with a terrace or a view. Inland, the same budget often buys a restored country house with olive trees, or a trullo already converted for modern living.
Our favorite hour for deciding whether a town is right is the evening passeggiata (the slow walk along the main street before dinner). Come back to a short list of towns in November as well as in August, and you will see each one as it really is the rest of the year.
What you pay on top of the price
Purchase taxes depend on who is selling and whether the home will be your main residence. Buying from a private seller, the registration tax is 9% of the cadastral value, or 2% with prima casa (main home) relief, with a minimum of €1,000, plus €50 each in mortgage and cadastral tax, according to the Agenzia delle Entrate. The cadastral value is usually well below the market price. It is the cadastral income (rendita catastale) raised by 5% and multiplied by 120, or by 110 with prima casa relief.
To show the scale, take the Agenzia delle Entrate’s own example of a home with a cadastral income of €900. As a main home, the registration tax is €2,079 (Agenzia delle Entrate, prima casa). Bought as a second home, the same property has a cadastral value of €113,400, so the registration tax would be €10,206, plus the two €50 fixed taxes. Buying from a builder charging VAT works differently: 10% VAT on the price, or 4% for a qualifying main home.
Then come the professionals: the notary who draws up the rogito (the final deed, signed in the notary’s office), the estate agent, and ideally a geometra (a licensed building surveyor) to check that the house matches its plans. Our guide to hiring an English-speaking geometra explains what they check and what they charge, and our complete guide to buying a home in Puglia walks through every step from offer to deed.
Frequently asked questions
Are these the prices homes actually sell for?
No. They are average asking prices from listings, so the final price is often lower after negotiation. They are most useful for comparing towns with each other.
Which towns in Puglia are the cheapest to buy in?
Of the towns in our table, Tricase and Taranto had the lowest averages in September 2026, both under €1,000 per square meter. By province, Taranto (€1,062) and Foggia (€1,071) were the lowest, and Bari (€1,844) the highest.
Is €100,000 enough to buy a house in Puglia?
Yes, in many towns, especially in the Salento and in the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi. Expect an older home that needs some updating, and keep a separate budget for taxes, the notary and a survey.
How much should I budget for taxes and fees?
It depends on the cadastral value, not just the price. As a second home bought from a private seller, plan for 9% of the cadastral value in registration tax plus €100 in fixed taxes, then notary, agency and survey fees on top.
Asking prices checked on Immobiliare.it on 24 October 2026 (September 2026 data); tax rates from the Agenzia delle Entrate, checked October 2026. We update the table each quarter. More guides on buying and restoring homes are in Stone & Key.
