Buyers are obliged to refurbish the dilapidated stone dwellings at an estimated cost of £26,000 and cannot sell the property on for five years.
But romantics who long for a gentler life in a picturesque Italian village will never get a better chance of making their dreams become a reality.
And time is running out, a surge in interest has led to a deadline of February 7 being set for applications after which they will be assessed in order in which they were made.
Ollolai, nestled in the mountain region of Barbagia, is offering 200 abandoned stone houses for the bargain price of just €1 (90p) each.
The village’s population has halved over the past three decades and now stands at 1,300 people who are mostly middle-aged childless couples.
Ollolai mayor Efisio Arbau decided to take drastic action to prevent the population falling further by launching the “houses for €1” scheme.
Mr Arbau said: “My crusade is to rescue our unique traditions from falling into oblivion.
“Pride in our past is our strength. We’ve always been tough people and won’t allow our town to die.”
The former capital of Barbagia, Ollolai’s once-buzzing piazzas are now much quieter after families abandoned their homes and younger residents left for big cities.
Many of the homes have been left unoccupied and allowed to fall into ruin for decades.
Mr Arbau contacted former homeowners, including shepherds and farmers, and asked them to sign their properties over to the town’s authorities and after approving a special decree the properties were placed on the market.
His plan to bring “our grandmas’ homes back from the grave” and revive the local economy appears to be working with the town authorities receiving applications from all over the world.
By the end of last year 120 applications had been received from prospective buyers as far afield as the US, Australia and Russia.
Mr Arbau said many of them came from second-generation immigrants who wanted a home in their native land.
A number of others Italian towns threatened by depopulation are running similar schemes including Montieri in Tuscany, Patricia in Lazio and Lecce de Marsi in Abruzzo.