Italy's home affordability is subject to a structural paradox that reflects the country's complex economic geography. According to a new index produced by idealista's Research Department, while 71% of family housing is affordable to average-income earners countrywide, the ratio falls severely below 50% in major urban areas and popular tourist sites. Affordability averages 46% in Milan and Florence, 49% in Rome, and 42% in Naples. According to Vincenzo de Tommaso, chairman of Idealista's Research Department, "the problem isn't just low incomes: it's that affordable housing isn't available where people need to live". The examination of the Italian market thus reveals two opposing dynamics: on the one hand, the inland areas and southern cities with low population pressure, where housing is affordable but job opportunities are scarce; on the other hand, the primary economic drivers of the country, where families' purchasing power is no longer able to keep pace with the upward trend in real estate values.