Following new trends in home ownership

Property development has grown immensely in Malta. And as land becomes more and more restricted, buildings continue to be razed to the ground by developers and entrepreneurs in the property industry in a bid to make good business.

This makes me wonder how we never run out of land. Beautiful blocks of apartments have replaced old houses on Tower Road and still do, not only there but a bit all over Malta, really. These apartments, ultimate residences with perfect views, come with a costly tag and are today's in-concept.

According to veteran Gozitan property developers Baron Group, people are no longer buying property, or a plot of land, building it, finishing it, furnishing it and living in it for the rest of their lives.

This mentality, especially in Gozo, being a smaller island, has changed drastically. People now buy according to need and only recently has the average Gozitan started going to an estate agent before purchasing property.

The up-and-coming generation in Gozo is shying from the traditions of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and today there is more mobility, with all its advantages and disadvantages.

Most people today buy a small property to start off with. When the time comes to move on, they sell this property and buy a second one, perhaps a terraced house if the family is getting bigger. At pensionable age, there is a growing tendency to revert to earlier purchases and a small apartment is usually sought again.

Originally Gozitan, Baron Group was initially set up by two friends and former civil servants Anthony Ellis, and Saviour (Francis Xavier) Tabone. Alan Bonnici, whom they met later, is director of the group's Maltese branch - AXT, which stands for the initials (Alan, Xavier and Tony).

AXT has been involved in property development in Malta for a few years now. Mr Bonnici told The Sunday Times at their office in Swieqi that the company was working on a number of projects, one of which was Waterside Place, a block of 17 seafront apartments in Qui-si-sana, currently under construction.

The 60-foot frontage block, which overlooks Tower Road, has 155 and 170 m2 apartments which are selling at around Lm200,000.

Excavation works on a new project in St Julian's are also under way. This has been called Sea Reach, opposite the Neptunes pitch, and is a block of seven two-bedroomed apartments overlooking the sunny side of Tower Road.

"This type of habitat, in terms of both size and location, is the most popular on the current market," Mr Bonnici said.

Another project is a block of 15 large apartments having three good-sized bedrooms in Nazju Ellul Street, Gzira. The block, aimed at families, has a mixture of two- and three-bedroomed apartments.

AXT has recently acquired a site in Madliena for four semi-detached villas with pool, also intended for sale. The company has two large farmhouses in an alley in Zebbug, which it intends to convert into 'houses of character' using new stones, but keeping the original style and structure of the authentic old farmhouse.

"This is a sort of experiment. We have done it in Gozo and we thought it would also work here," Mr Ellis said with a smile.

Restoration works are planned for a beautiful farmhouse with four tumoli of land in Ta' l-Ibrag, which is already built. A block of 14 two-bedroomed apartments in Windsor Terrace, Sliema, is already sold out, except for one apartment.

Baron Group is currently working on a major project in Ghasri, Gozo, which is still on plan. However, construction on this six-star cluster of five or six villas will begin shortly. The site enjoys some of the most beautiful views in Ghasri.

"This is a totally new niche in the property market in Gozo, which we have managed to capture," Mr Ellis said. "These villas will be quality holiday homes for both foreigners and Maltese, will offer a higher standard of service, and will have that extra something special.

"What the current market offers is the farmhouse or villa type of holiday rental, which is usually self-catering. This time we are trying to offer a better service still."

From carrying out their first conversions, Baron Group moved into property development and then started to buy property in Gozo, eventually selling it.

The group started off by converting their first farmhouse in Kerçem about 18 years ago. At the time, Anthony had a foreign friend who had asked him for a plan of the house he had bought in Gozo.

Anthony referred him to Saviour. He then asked for someone who could also take care of building and construction works.

"As we both enjoyed a technical background, we knew the ropes of the job and offered to do the project ourselves," Mr Ellis said.

At the time, in Gozo, it wasn't very common to have a one-stop shop which offered all services, from the builder, electrician, plumber and plasterer to the tile layer.

"We saw straight away that there was a market for this type of service in Gozo and we went ahead," Mr Ellis said. "Up to today, we still make it a point to supervise our finished product personally.

"We feel we need to know what is happening with plan, design and all the construction work from A to Z. This is why we got so involved in so many turnkey projects.

"A good chunk of our conversions today are on properties which belong to us, houses which we would have purchased ourselves. However, we still convert a few beautiful farmhouses which we had started off with.

Some of these prestigious properties were so beautiful that Baron Group started to keep them, do them up to very high standards and then rent them out for long lets as quality holiday homes. This was a wise choice and came straight after property development.

Today, the group manages around 35 quality homes belonging mostly to foreigners who are away from the island for a good part of the year.

"These houses are sadly empty and closed for long periods. So we took it in our hands to provide maintenance and also to encourage owners to rent them out in their absence, thus providing them at the same time with a tidy income," Mr Ellis explained.

In the meantime, the market stated to change and the Maltese customer cropped up. He now is more present than the foreigner in Gozo, unlike in the Eighties, when the British started off the property boom.

"Maltese buyers are investing heavily in Gozo. What is interesting to note is that the Maltese buyer is not only buying property in Gozo for holiday purposes but also as a type of investment, by renting out property, thus having a substantial yearly income," he added.

This also creates flexibility and is a convenient service. The group own properties, develops them, uses them as a marketing tool, sells, maintains them, hires them and, also, if the client desi   res, resells.

From the Eighties onwards, whereas Gozo was considered to be Malta's backyard by the Maltese, it suddenly became the most fashionable place on earth. Owning property in Gozo has almost become like someone who wants to prove himself by buying an expensive yacht.

This mentality changed a lot of things, even for the Gozitans themselves. The value of property shot up and owners of property in Gozo eventually started to realise this. There suddenly was a culture of awareness and more attention was paid to certain features, like old freestone slabs, which today are rare to find and are being recycled.

Certain areas in Gozo, like the heart of Victoria, which in the past was considered to be "decadent", have now become prime sites and the demand for tiny houses in alleys and other narrow streets in the centre of town, refurbished with modern amenities, prove to be popular with Maltese and Gozitans.

Baron Group were involved in major historical restoration projects, including the Dwejra and Comino towers. Tenders and discussions to restore parts of the Citadel in Gozo are also under way.