Planners should think about building smaller homes when discussions about revising local plans kick off, a KPMG report into Malta’s economic outlook published on Friday argues.

The report delves into the profile of Malta’s property market, finding that the housing sector “reveals unique trends” compared to other European countries.

For one thing, the report says, Maltese homes are the biggest in the EU, with an average of 2.2 rooms per person, well above the EU average of 1.6.

This means that over two-thirds of residents (69%) live in homes that are too large for them, more than double the European-wide average of 33%, with only 2% of the population deemed to be living in overcrowded households, the second-lowest rate in Europe.

With land at a premium and housing affordability still a problem, “there may be a case for prioritising the development of smaller, and more affordable, housing units,” the report argues.

This could “maximise the efficient use of the islands’ limited space and increase the availability of affordable housing for low-income buyers,” it continues.

The report does not specify what its authors understand by “smaller housing units” but property experts have previously argued along similar lines, saying that Malta should revise its planning rules to allow for more one-bedroom apartments to be built.

As things stand, property experts say, planning and sanitation laws make it very difficult for studio or one-bedroom apartments, a staple of cities around the world, to be built.

Nevertheless, the KPMG report adds, this idea “would require careful deliberation” since it could well have an impact on residents’ quality of life. KPMG’s report comes just weeks after the organisation’s annual property conference, during which Robert Abela opened the door to a revision of the country’s local plans, admitting they are no longer up to scratch.

The local plans in force were established in 2006, controversially marking large swathes of untouched land as fair game for development and paving the way for urban sprawl across the Maltese islands.

Although there have been isolated revisions to the local plans in specific sites – from the rezoning of Ħondoq ir-Rummien, which blocked a proposed tourism village, to the ongoing public consultation into Villa Rosa’s local plans – this promises to be the first wholesale revision of the country’s local plans in almost two decades. The jockeying for position has already begun.

Abela promptly warned that most people would be unhappy to find that their land has suddenly been removed from a development zone, seemingly shooting down the suggestion that development zones could shrink.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Miriam Dalli told parliament that adding new development zones should be out of the question.