A mortgage in Italy for a seaside home: requirements, rates and how it differs from a first home

The first question almost always comes before anyone has seen a property: “How much will the bank lend us?” I hear it from families who walk into the agency at the end of the summer, with photos of the pine forest still on their phones and a mortgage already running on the home they live in. For a second home it pays to start from a different question: how much money you need of your own on the day of the rogito, the notarial deed that completes a property purchase in Italy.

The reason is simple. A mortgage for a home by the sea costs more than one for a first home, and the heaviest part of the difference is set by law, in three precise points. Then there are interest rates, which have risen again in 2026, and the monthly payment, which the bank compares with your income.

In this guide you will find the measurable differences between a first and a second home, with the rules that set them. You will find the official average rates published by the Bank of Italy (Banca d'Italia), updated to the latest available figure. And you will find a worked example of a monthly payment with every step, so you can redo the sums with your own numbers. The specific case, though, is decided by the bank and by your adviser: here I give you the tools to arrive prepared.

First-home and second-home mortgages in Italy: what really changes

In Italy, prima casa (first home) is a tax status reserved for the home you make your main residence. Between a mortgage for a first home and one for a second home, the law sets three differences. The substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva) on the mortgage rises from 0.25% to 2%, the deduction of mortgage interest disappears and the purchase taxes are higher. The share of the price the bank finances, on the other hand, follows the same general rules.

Here is the picture, with the source for each line.

Sources: Normattiva; Agenzia delle Entrate, guide “L'acquisto della casa”, October 2025; Banca d'Italia, “Comprare una casa. Il mutuo ipotecario in parole semplici”, February 2026.

The certain differences, the ones that apply with any bank, are about tax. The conditions of an individual bank you only discover by asking. Let us take the tax differences one at a time.

The substitute tax: 2% instead of 0.25%

When you sign a mortgage lasting more than eighteen months, the bank can apply the substitute tax provided for by D.P.R. 601/1973. It is a single tax that takes the place of the registration, stamp, mortgage and cadastral duties on the loan contract. The option is exercised in writing in the mortgage deed.

The rate depends on what the home is for. For a first home it is 0.25% of the amount disbursed. If the mortgage is used to buy a home that does not meet the first-home requirements, such as a holiday home, article 18 sets it at 2%. On a €100,000 mortgage that is €2,000 instead of €250: a difference of €1,750, to be counted among the upfront costs.

There is a detail that also matters if you are thinking of moving to the coast for good. The reduced rate only applies if the declaration that you meet the first-home requirements is in the loan deed or attached to it. If it is missing, you pay 2% even when you would qualify.

Mortgage interest on a seaside home is not deductible

For a first home, the Italian Consolidated Income Tax Act (Testo unico delle imposte sui redditi) allows you to deduct 19% of the mortgage interest paid, on a maximum of €4,000 a year. The condition is precise: the mortgage must be taken out to buy a property that becomes your main residence within a year of purchase. For a holiday home this deduction does not exist.

The rule is in article 15 of the Act (D.P.R. 917/1986). From 1 January 2027 the new consolidated act approved by Legislative Decree (D.Lgs.) 117/2026 applies, and its article 14 carries the rule over with the same limits: 19%, €4,000, main residence.

What is it worth in money? With a €100,000 mortgage over 25 years at 3.61%, the interest in the first year comes to about €3,569. For a first home the deduction would be about €678 (19% of €3,569). For a second home it is zero. The difference repeats every year, and almost nobody includes it when doing the sums in a hurry.

How much an Italian bank will lend for a second home

The Bank of Italy's guide to mortgages, updated in February 2026, is clear. As a rule, the bank lends an amount that does not exceed 80% of the property's value as established by the valuation (perizia) of an independent surveyor. Going beyond that threshold is possible, but with more guarantees and often on less favourable terms.

The general limit has a legal basis. Article 38 of the Italian Consolidated Banking Act (Testo unico bancario) gives the Bank of Italy the task of setting the maximum amount of property-secured lending in relation to the value of the mortgaged property. There is no different legal percentage for second homes: each bank then applies its own lending policy, and it is the bank that decides the share for a holiday home.

That is why, when a family asks me how much they will get, I answer with a question to take to the bank: “For a home that will not be our residence, what percentage of the valuation do you finance?” The answer changes from bank to bank, and so does your deposit.

The value the surveyor puts on the home matters too. The 80% is calculated on the value estimated in the valuation, not on the price you have agreed with the seller. To get an idea of values in the area, look at the property market observatory of the Agenzia delle Entrate, the OMI (Osservatorio del Mercato Immobiliare). For Eraclea Mare (zone E6, first half of 2026) it gives €1,700 to €2,000 per m² for homes in normal condition and €2,400 to €3,100 per m² for those in excellent condition. If you want to know how to read that range, I explain it in the guide to what a home in Eraclea Mare is really worth.

The payment and your income: the one-third rule

Besides the home, the bank assesses you. Before granting the mortgage it examines your creditworthiness (merito creditizio), meaning your ability to repay the loan over time. The Bank of Italy guide offers a simple yardstick for doing the sums yourself: it is reasonable for the monthly payment not to exceed one third of your disposable income.

The same guide suggests estimating disposable income net of fixed outgoings. If you are already paying a mortgage on the home you live in, that payment reduces the room for the second one. This is why many families who earn enough on paper find out at the bank that they can borrow less than they had hoped.

Mortgage rates in Italy in 2026: the Bank of Italy figures

In August 2026 the *average TAEG on new mortgages for house purchase was 3.99%, against 3.81% in July. The TAEG (tasso annuo effettivo globale*) is the Italian equivalent of the APR. The figures come from the Bank of Italy's publication “Banche e moneta: serie nazionali” of 9 October 2026, the latest available as I write. The August figure is still provisional.

The TAEG is the number to watch, because it includes the interest rate and the other costs of the mortgage (arrangement fee, payment collection charges). In 2026 it moved like this.

Source: Banca d'Italia, “Banche e moneta: serie nazionali”, 9 October 2026, Table 2.4. A year earlier, in August 2025, the average TAEG was 3.67%.

The same table also gives the interest rate on its own, without costs. In August 2026 it averaged 3.55%. For mortgages with the rate fixed for up to one year (in practice, variable-rate mortgages) it was 3.37%, and for those with the rate fixed for more than one year 3.61%. Only 23.9% of the new mortgages taken out in August had a rate fixed for up to one year.

Two caveats before you use these numbers. They are national averages across all new home mortgages: the Bank of Italy does not publish a separate rate for second homes. And they are averages: the rate you are offered depends on the bank, the term, the share financed and your profile. To compare offers, the Bank of Italy guide recommends asking several banks for the PIES, the sheet with your personalised conditions (the Italian name for the European Standardised Information Sheet), and comparing the TAEGs.

What the monthly payment costs: a step-by-step example

After the averages, a case. What follows is an example, built to show the method: your numbers will be different, and the real payment is calculated by the bank.

Take a 70 m² flat in Eraclea Mare in normal condition. With the OMI quotations for the first half of 2026 (€1,700 to €2,000 per m²) it is worth €119,000 to €140,000. Let us assume a price of €130,000 and a mortgage of €100,000 over 25 years at 3.61%, the average rate in August 2026 on mortgages with the rate fixed for more than one year.

The highlighted step is the one you need to redo the sums: change the capital, the rate and the term, and you get your own payment. The term weighs more than it seems. The table shows the same €100,000 mortgage at 3.61% over three different terms.

Example with a fixed monthly payment and a fixed rate of 3.61% for the whole term. It does not include arrangement, valuation or insurance costs.

Stretching the term from 20 to 30 years lowers the payment by about €130 a month, but adds more than €23,000 in interest. It is a choice to make with the bank, looking at your income today and at what you expect it to be in ten years' time.

The deposit you really need

Back to the opening question: how much do you need of your own? In the example the bank finances €100,000 out of €130,000, and you put in the rest. But the price is not the only outlay.

The total comes to €38,904, before the notary, the valuation, the bank's arrangement fee and the agency's commission. If you buy from a building company within five years of the end of the works, instead of registration tax you pay VAT (IVA) at 10% on the price (22% for the high-end cadastral categories A/1, A/8 and A/9). On top of that come €200 each of registration, mortgage and cadastral tax. The full picture of the taxes, with more examples, is in the guide on how to buy a second home by the sea without making mistakes.

After the rogito come the yearly costs. In Eraclea the IMU, the municipal property tax, on “other buildings” (altri fabbricati) is 0.97%: with the same cadastral income of €600 it comes to about €978 a year (600 × 1.05 × 160 × 0.97%).

Before you look for a home: the checks to make, in order

Order matters more than speed. People who start looking for a home before they know how much they can spend fall for a property they then cannot finance, or sign an offer without any protection. This is the sequence I recommend to the families who come to me.

The last item is the one that protects your caparra, the deposit you pay when your offer is accepted. If the bank turns down the mortgage, a well-written offer leaves you free to walk away. How to word that clause, and what to check before signing, I explain in the guide on the purchase offer for a second home.

What the bank decides, and what we can prepare together

There is an objection I hear often: “If the bank decides the numbers, what is the point of going through an agency?” It is a fair objection, and the answer lies in who does what. The bank decides whether to lend to you and how much, at what rate and for how many years. Your adviser, or your accountant (commercialista), tells you whether a choice suits your tax situation. I do neither of those jobs.

What a local agency can do is get the home ready for the mortgage. The bank's valuation looks at the value, but also at whether the property is in order: an enclosed veranda without planning permission, or a floor plan that does not match the property, can slow down or block the loan. Before we propose a home to you, we check these papers, so the surveyor finds what they expect to find.

We can also help you set realistic timings. Between the offer, the valuation, the bank's approval and the rogito, weeks go by: if the dates in the offer are too tight, you risk ending up without a mortgage and with the caparra already paid.

A mortgage for a seaside home in Italy, in short

Buying a home by the sea with a mortgage can be done well, as long as you know the rules before you start looking. For a second home you pay 2% substitute tax instead of 0.25%, you cannot deduct the interest and, if you buy from a private seller, you pay 9% registration tax on the cadastral value. As a rule the bank does not finance more than 80% of the valuation, and the monthly payment should stay within one third of your disposable income. In August 2026 the average TAEG on new home mortgages was 3.99%.

With these numbers you can already estimate your deposit. The rest is settled by the bank and your adviser, on your specific case.

If you want to start on the right foot, book a meeting at our agency in Eraclea Mare. We line up price, deposit and timings before you start looking, so you arrive at the bank with the right questions and with properties that fit your budget.

To work out a mortgage on a real figure, start with the homes for sale in Eraclea Mare and look at the residences in the area too.