Approvals for new dwellings in final months of 2023 sinks by 37%

A total of 1,292 new dwellings were approved in the last quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023), representing a decrease of 37.4 per cent when compared to the corresponding period in 2022 (Q4 2022), data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed on Tuesday.

These new dwellings were the result of 321 building permits being approved during the final three months of the year. When compared to the same period in 2022, this marked a 10.1 per cent decrease in building permits.

The average number of approved new dwellings per building permit stood at four, significantly down from Q4 2022’s 5.8.

859 of the new dwellings approved during Q4 2023 were apartments, making up 66.5 per cent of the total. This was followed by penthouses (216), maisonettes (125), terraced houses (76), as well as other residential units (16).

The number of new dwellings approved in Malta dropped by 34.1 per cent when compared to Q4 2022, while those in Gozo and Comino also decreased by 51 per cent.

The NSO added that the highest number of approved new dwellings was registered in the Northern Harbour district at 466, while the lowest number was in the Southern Harbour district (101).

San Ġwann ranked top when it comes to the locality with the highest number of approved dwellings with 73, with the likes of Saint Paul’s Bay (66), Ħamrun (64), Nadur (59) and Żurrieq (59) following closely behind.

It clarified that although Għajnsielem and Comino are classified as one locality for the purposes of the study, no building permits were approved in Comino.

No new dwellings were registered in Birgu, Lija, Marsa, Mdina, Mtarfa, San Lawrenz, Santa Luċija, and Ta’ Xbiex.