Gozo has seen a surge in demand for second homes and from a desire to relocate from Malta during the coronavirus pandemic year, according to some estate agents.

The island, in fact, outperformed Malta in 2020, which was “one of the better years” in terms of property sales, particularly homes with outside space for personal use, Marie Grech, who has been working in the industry for 35 years, said.

Back in February, with the outbreak of COVID-19, “we thought the year was over and that it would be hopeless,” the director of Frank Salt Real Estate – Gozo said.

But while the foreign market practically disappeared, things picked up on the local front, with the lockdown triggering a totally unexpected situation, Grech said.

A “phenomenon” brought about by the pandemic in 2020 was that middle-aged and older persons looked for houses to move to Gozo, she noted.

“COVID-19 made many realise they could work from home and that they did not need to go to the office every day,” Grech said.

Those living in small homes, in particular, realised they wanted more space and freedom. The type of properties that moved most were apartments with terraces and small outside areas as well as houses with large courtyards, gardens and pools.

“Normally, it would be 50-50  but while the foreign market shrank, its domestic counterpart made up for it,” she said.

With €300,000 to €400,000, they know they can get a better home in Gozo with outside space, she observed, pointing out, however, that the figure has now gone up to €500,000 due to a big shortage of this kind of properties.

While there was no major shift in prices, these are regulated by supply and Grech envisaged a “substantial increase” in 2021 if the demand and the scarcity continued.

The biggest issue with older houses, which are in demand, is that they are lacking and hard to find, she said.

Meanwhile, houses from the 1950s and 1960s are being knocked down to build apartments and being lost to development.

While official studies on the property market’s movements last year are not yet available and most information is anecdotal, the Gozo trend was substantiated by Heritage Homes.

Last year, the company said, it witnessed a big demand from Maltese for farmhouses, his speciality.

The upsurge in interest and sales came mostly from the mature age bracket, who looked primarily for properties to move into and use as a second home for the family, it noted.

Preferably located on the outskirts and alone, the top prerequisite for these properties was a view as well as peace and quiet.

Clients have been choosy, a spokesperson for Heritage said, pointing out that solitary properties were scarce and more expensive but that their shortage would not necessarily lead to an increase in price.

A budget limit of around €600,000 meant properties which exceeded that amount struggled to sell.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the demand from foreigners did not completely die due to travel restrictions, with instances where buyers engaged someone to look for a property on their behalf, the spokesperson said.

While it may not have been the better year for all agents, it was by no means a bad one and the feeling is that the market did not change.

For Remax, Gozo remained “steady and strong”, CEO Jeff Buttigieg said.

According to its figures, when considered as one town, it sold the most units by far last year compared to other localities in Malta.

Nathan Abela, director of Gozo Prime Properties, had expected the worst but things were not as bad as predicted, with sales and prices “still thriving”, he said.
“When COVID-19 struck, we thought everything would stop… property prices in Gozo have been increasing steadily for years and a slow increase continued during the virus outbreak,” Abela said.

Gozo properties have remained more “reachable”.

“The fact that we did not slow down and kept on going says a lot and is a good sign,” he remarked.