Property sales in the first quarter of 2021 reached a combined value of €649.7 million, an increase of 15.2 per cent over the same period last year, with Gozo, Mellieħa and St Paul’s Bay registering the highest number of sales.
Figures released on Monday by the National Statistics Office show that 1,229 final deeds of sale relating to residential property were registered in March 2021, representing a 32.9 per cent increase when compared to March 2020.
The value of sales in March 2021 totalled €259.3 million, 55.9 per cent higher than the value of those registered during the same month in the previous year.
March of 2020 was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Maltese shores, leading to a shutdown of most non-essential services from 13th March onwards.
The highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the two regions of Gozo, and Mellieħa and St Paul’s Bay, at 497 and 410 respectively.
Conversely, the lowest numbers of deeds were noted in respect of Cottonera and the region of Ħ’Attard, Ħal Balzan, Iklin and Ħal Lija. In these regions, 66 and 93 deeds respectively were recorded.
In spite of having the lowest amount of deeds in absolute terms, Cottonera had the highest annual increase, that of 78.4 per cent.
The second highest was noted in respect of the Mdina, Ħad-Dingli, Rabat, Mtarfa and Mġarr region, with a 64.5 per cent rise compared to the previous year.
By contrast, the biggest annual decreases were observed in the Gozo region, and the region of Pembroke, St Julian’s, Tas-Sliema, Swieqi and Ħal Għargħur, with declines of 8.1 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively.
The release also sheds light on promise of sale agreements.
In March 2021, 1,650 promise of sale agreements relating to residential property were registered, equivalent to an 85.2 per cent increase over the previous year.
Along with high demand for agricultural land for recreational use, these figured fuelled a record period of property sales, as acknowledged by the Malta Developers Association.
In the first quarter of 2021, the number of promise of sale agreements reached 3,980, an annual increase of 56.9 per cent.
The largest numbers of promise of sale agreements corresponded to residential properties situated in the two regions of Ħaż-Żabbar, Xgħajra, Żejtun, Birżebbuġa, Marsaskala and Marsaxlokk, and Gozo, totalling 522 and 520 respectively.
The lowest numbers were noted in respect of properties located in Cottonera and the region of Mdina, Ħad-Dingli, Rabat, Mtarfa and Mġarr. The first-mentioned region accounted for 54 agreements and the second for 131.
The region of Ħ’Attard, Ħal Balzan, Iklin and Ħal Lija saw the highest annual increase in promise of sale agreements, with the number more than doubling. The second highest was observed for the Mosta and Naxxar region, a rise of 91.5 per cent compared to the previous year.
The region of Cottonera showed negative year-on-year growth of 6.9 per cent in registered promise of sale agreements, while the region of Birkirkara, Gżira, Msida, Ta’ Xbiex and San Ġwann had the next lowest growth, that of 31.5 per cent.
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