Galdes property cost 24% less than smaller penthouse in same block

Updated 1.45pm 

The same developers who sold Affordable Housing Minister Roderick Galdes a €140,000 penthouse and garage had agreed to sell a smaller penthouse in the same complex, without a garage, for €45,000 more, two years earlier.

Last week, Times of Malta revealed that Galdes had bought a duplex penthouse and garage in the newly-built Ħal Gelmus complex in Victoria in January 2025 for a bargain price of €140,000 from developer Joseph Portelli’s Excel Homes, having signed a promise of sale the previous year.

However, a promise-of-sale agreement signed in July 2022, two years earlier, shows that Excel Homes agreed to sell a smaller, one-bedroom penthouse in the same complex for a total of €185,000 - €45,000 more than the price paid by Galdes, despite not having a garage. That is around 24.3% more expensive.

The document, seen by Times of Malta, lists the price of the penthouse and its airspace at €167,000, together with an additional €18,000 for the block’s common parts, bringing the total price up to €185,000.

The promise of sale lists the penthouse in question as being 75 square metres in size, with 58 square metres of internal space and a 17-square-metre outdoor area. It also does not include a garage, unlike the deal struck by Galdes. The sale eventually fell through, with the same penthouse returning to the market, now listed at a total asking price of just over €220,000.

Putting property off the market for three years is not something normal, the opposite is the norm- architect

But in comments to Times of Malta on Sunday aftenoon, the developers insisted the affordable housing minister did not get preferential treatment, as most of the properties in the development complex were sold at an even lower price per square metre. 

Joseph Portelli's Excel Investments told Times of Malta that 43 units of the 75 properties sold at the Ħal Gelmus development were sold at a lower price per square metre. Four of these were penthouses.

Galdes has described his penthouse as measuring 86 square metres in size, making it over 10 square metres larger despite the far cheaper price tag. Lawyer Jason Azzopardi on Friday said that Galdes’ property is actually significantly larger, 116 square metres, when its outdoor area is included.

Galdes ultimately paid €125,000 for his penthouse, together with a further €15,000 for a garage, bringing the total up to €140,000.

According to a recent price list for the Ħal Gelmus complex, the cheapest garage in the complex would now cost a buyer at least €38,000.

Defending the bargain price he paid for the property, Galdes claimed he had “reserved” the property at a fixed price in 2021, with the price reflecting market value at the time.

A Times of Malta fact-check found that the price of a penthouse the size of Galdes’ would have been expected to fetch an asking price of roughly €160,000 in 2021, even without a garage or the amenities offered at the Ħal Gelmus complex.

Reserving a property for years on end is ‘unheard of’

Meanwhile, several developers and architects who spoke to Times of Malta on condition of anonymity described the practice of reserving a property at a fixed price for several years as “unheard of”.

Several developers said that although they have allowed buyers to reserve a property against a small fee in the past, this is only for a handful of weeks until a promise-of-sale agreement is drawn up.

The reservation fee is typically then deducted from the deposit paid upon signing the promise of sale.

“Why would I fix a price for three years? It makes no sense,” one major developer said, a sentiment shared by others.

Architects who spoke to Times of Malta expressed similar views.

“Putting property off the market for three years is not something normal, the opposite is the norm,” one experienced architect said, adding that they had “never heard of something like this happen”.

Other architects said that while they have come across instances of this sort of arrangement taking place, it is exceedingly rare and only reserved for people with whom there is a personal relationship.

“This sort of thing is not done with just anybody. I would only agree to it with somebody whom I have been close to for years,” one architect and small-scale developer said.

Galdes has come under fire in recent weeks, accused of meddling in the affairs of the beleaguered Malita Investments and “hobnobbing” with contractors it had engaged. He has also faced scrutiny over his property dealings with Excel Homes at a time when its parent company agreed to lease over 100 apartments to the Housing Authority.

On Wednesday, opposition leader Alex Borg called on Galdes to resign or be sacked, with PN taking the matter to the auditor general for investigation.

Galdes has remained steadfast, insisting he has nothing to hide, although he dodged questions over how much stamp duty he paid on the property.