As property supply grows faster than demand, prices are expected to face ‘corrections’ over next two years

Presenting the latest Malta Property Landscape Report, compiled by Grant Thornton and Dhalia, Daniel Gravino discussed how, with housing supply growing rapidly and demand growing at a slower pace, the market outlook for the next two years forecasts some downward pressure on property prices.

This may come as good news to many, especially those looking to purchase their first homes. Additionally, over the years Malta’s property market has come under fire for heating up too quickly, risking a property bubble bursting. Therefore, ‘price corrections’, as the industry likes to call downward price adjustments on property, could serve to ‘normalise’ the sector.

Indeed, the landmark property report provides insights on the Selling and Rental House Price Indices, Property Transactions, Housing Demand and Supply, Affordability, Rental Yields, and a Market Outlook for the coming years.

It shows that between 2020 and the first half of 2022, the selling price for the average housing unit increased at a relatively slow pace. However, when looking back at the Selling Price of property over the span of the past nine years, figures show how these doubled. However, when considering the developments of both the demand side and supply side for housing, moderate price corrections on property prices will be felt over the next two years.

Dr Gravino spoke during a property landscape event discussed at a Bank of Valletta (BOV) networking event where a new BOV online home loans portal was introduced to estate agents.

Wide-ranging themes about Malta’s property sector were discussed, such as the market’s year-on-year growth, despite the various challenges derived from an increase in construction costs, excess supply, and affordability constraints.

Lara Selvagi – head data insights and economics at BOV, shared insights from the customers’ point-of-view, analysing in detail the most and least affordable locations for property purchase based on demographics such as location of the property, purchaser status and income. Data shows that price is not the only determinant of affordability since different locations and property types attract different kinds of purchasers. One case study demonstrated how purchasers of apartments in Attard and Fgura experience the same level of difficulty in affordability, since lower-priced apartments in Fgura attract lower income purchasers, while Attard attracts higher income purchasers opting for higher-priced apartments.

The event represented a first-of-its-kind networking gathering by BOV specifically for real estate agents.

During an introductory speech, BOV CEO, Kenneth Farrugia said that “We have developed a number of affordable and accessible financing solutions to provide our customers, the opportunity to acquire their dream home or to purchase property as an investment. Through the new Home Financing Portal, our customers are being provided with an enhanced digital experience and an easy-to-use end-to-end platform where they can apply for their home financing solution from the comfort of their home.  The introduction of the BOV Online Home Loans Portal is another first for the Bank, offering customers a truly holistic digital journey.”

Introducing the BOV Online Home Loan Portal

Marisa Said, head consumer & micro-business finance at Bank of Valletta started by introducing attendees to the BOV Online Home Loan Portal as they were the first audience to watch a new tutorial video. Ms Said also shared customers’ testimonials based on their experience of the new portal.

She also said that the Bank is offering Estate Agents to provide them with a link to the BOV portal on their corporate websites. This will assist mutual customers in making an informed property choice based on their affordability with more ease.

The event proceeded with a Q&A session from those who attended, and a closing speech by BOV chairman Gordon Cordina who explained that “the Bank is committed to fulfil its ESG requirements, which are key for further business opportunities. The top priorities in our short-term strategy will focus on proper segmentation, use of data, intelligence and digitalisation tools.”