Sambuca is one of the many towns in Italy auctioning off homes from €1 in a bid to inject activity back into the region. The southwestern Sicilian town, about an hour's drive from the capital Palermo, has seen its population decrease by 30% since the 1950s. As the decline in population accelerated in recent years the council decided to auction off 16 abandoned buildings from €1 last April. All 16 were sold, with a further 100 purchased privately. Most of the purchasers are from the US.

Then they opened up the bids and the highest number won. All homes sold for $5000 on average, and the highest bidder paid about $25,000.

 

Almost all the homes purchased in the scheme required roughly $10,000 to bring them up to a liveable standard.