While many European cities experienced a slowdown in the housing market over recent years, Malta has had a consistently strong prime residential market and continued to rise on the real estate global stage.  Malta is now established as a dynamic cultural and business hub.  

For residents, Malta offers  high quality Mediterranean life, an ideal climate and a lower cost of living compared to many other western European cities.

With a 100 per cent increase in prime residential prices over the past decade, Malta has outperformed a number of important global cities. Malta has, in fact, always benefitted from fast-growing interest coming from domestic and international buyers alike, while values have risen and for good reason.

Prime residential property in Malta has always offered good value when compared with its global counterparts.  The highest prices are found in the attractive and bustling harbour area, where prime seafront property averages €6,500 per square metre.  Some of Malta’s most iconic landmarks and best commercial areas may be found here as well as Malta’s most affluent localities and leading, mixed-use lifestyle developments.  

These seaside towns are renowned for the vast array of restaurants, nightlife, prime shopping spots on offer as well as their stunning historic architecture and seaside lookout points.

As in many prime residential markets around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic this year suppressed activity in the months of government-imposed ‘shutdown’, mainly the period of March-May, however, activity picked up quite swiftly and with an added sense of urgency once Malta  International Airport reopened in July. The market actually felt hotter in July than it did in the first few months of the year. We expect Malta, with its unique offering, to continue to outperform other European cities in the near term.

The prime residential rental market,  across key coastal localities which typically have a high share of international and corporate clients, has suffered most in the months of lockdown as demand dipped and this as a result of the global limitations to travel, etc due to the pandemic which crippled tourism and lead to a sharp increase of supply of quality long-let property streaming in from the short-let market.  

However, the market remained stable with many owners holding onto their properties during the crisis, accepting to lower rental values, reducing prices by approximately 20 to 30 per cent in order to keep their property occupied, in turn for realising temporary and inevitable price falls.  

Meanwhile, the prime residential market was also driven by a change in demand during the pandemic. Our letting department never shut its doors and adapted to the shift in the market.  The letting team at Perry experienced increased demand for larger prime units as smaller spaces fell out of favour with most prospective tenants in the COVID-19 climate.  

We expect Malta, with its unique offering, to continue to outperform other European cities in the near term

Many began fearing possible prolonged quarantine periods in a restricted space.  In fact, the demand for space has been a significant driver of rental demand during the lockdown months this year and created a new and very interesting market. Tenants looked for properties with more space, away from densely-populated areas.  

Properties with sizeable outdoor areas, typically with garden and swimming pool in the prime residential market, gained most.  Some families and friends even pooled in resources to co-lease homes with magnificent outdoor areas.

One of the articles in the latest issue of Perry magazine.

A particularly memorable incident that took place during the thick of the pandemic outbreak and lockdown period was when four of our letting consultants received four unique offers on the same detached property, located in the rural outskirts of Siggiewi. These offers were received within a few minutes of each other - all clients viewed and made substantial offers on this same up-market countryside residence and all offers were received on the same evening.  

This occurrence was unprecedented  for such a high-end and costly property and clearly evidenced a shift in the market and a sudden market frenzy to flee urban locations in favour of greater outdoor space and lavish countryside living in the weeks following the COVID-19 outbreak. Such activity kept the prime residential letting market very much alive and resilient during these tough months.

The Maltese prime property market has yet again proved to be resilient to the toughest challenges and seems set to continue to mature on a global stage in the long term, while offering value in both a European and global context.

Looking ahead, Malta’s prime residential market is forecast to be one of the strongest performers. Maltese immigration law has been instrumental in attracting quality investors from across the globe. Such laws provide a number of residence programmes open to both EU and non-EU nationals.  

These programmes have attracted many real estate enthusiasts and investors to our shores, particularly prospective buyers and tenants seeking property in the prime residential market and continue to do so. Such programmes give the opportunity to a number of individuals and families to relocate to Malta or to hold residency status for various reasons, with the requirement of renting or acquiring a property in Malta.

The most recent Malta citizenship by investment programme also made an outstanding contribution to the prime residential market. Such programmes are likely to keep international interest and investment in the real estate market high and have also served as a buffer from any negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the prime residential market.

Malta also remains an attractive jurisdiction for a multitude of strategic and innovative industries, continuing to offer an attractive legal and tax framework for doing business and benefitting from significant growth in recent years, particularly in the service industries with financial services, remote gaming and ICT being the key industries.

Malta’s reputation as one of Europe’s most dynamic and innovative business jurisdictions and preferred locations for doing business has also served as a great shield during the COVID-19 outbreak with demand for property from people working in such industries remaining stable.  The outlook for both the prime sales and rental markets continues to look positive and recent enquiries are very encouraging as foreign and local buyers and renters continue to come from new and diverse sources.

Robert Spiteri Paris, managing director, Perry Estate Agents