Latest PwC Real Estate Survey confirms a resilient demand for residential property in Malta
PwC Malta is pleased to be releasing the sixth edition of its Residential Real Estate Survey. This market research exercise, which was concluded during the first months of 2025, was carried out through an online stratified survey, and targeted the resident population of the Maltese islands, garnering a total of 447 responses.
Industry landscape
Business activity within the industry continues to be strong, as evidenced by NSO statistics which indicate that during 2024 final deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements (PoSAs) increased by 3.4% and 3.1% respectively over the previous year.
The total value of final deeds of sale in 2024 amounted to €3.5 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 7%, in a landscape where interest rates in Malta remained generally consistent. This makes it difficult to attribute any price increases in the property market to changes in interest rates.
The trajectory of the Property Price Index (PPI) also suggests that the value of residential real estate property has been increasing steadily over the past years, both in terms of transacted prices (NSO) and in terms of advertised prices (CBM). In 2024 such indices increased by 6.5% and 5.6% respectively.
In what can be interpreted as an early indicator of a possible sluggish environment, statistics on building permits in 2025 indicate that during the first quarter of 2025, the number of building permits approved dropped by 7.6% and the number of approved dwellings dropped by 17.4%.
The rental market appears to be steady, and statistics published by the Malta Housing Authority show that rents rose by 6.8% on average in the first half of 2024 compared to 2023.
Survey results
The survey results are generally consistent with published economic indicators and other statistics and suggest a resilient demand in respect to the purchase and rental of residential property.
Plans to buy or rent residential property
The majority of respondents in the Survey indicated that they are seeking to purchase property. When compared to previous editions, this Survey evidences a marginal increase in the cohort of respondents seeking to rent property and a corresponding decrease in the extent of people wishing to buy or not having plans at all, arguably signaling potential pressure on the market, especially, if such trend had to persist.
Are you making plans to buy or rent a residential property?
Value of residential property
The survey results indicate that almost half of the respondents are looking to buy property valued in between the range of €201k to €350k. Demand for property priced over the €500k mark also appears to be growing. When benchmarked against the results of the previous two editions of the survey, such a metric indicates that there is an increased appetite for higher value property. This message is also consistent with the trajectory of the Property Price Index which has been referred to previously, and other economic indicators namely the Gross Domestic Product, which evidences the growth in economic activity and hence spending power, over the past years.
Population growth, combined with the geographical limitations of the Maltese islands, continue to further drive up the prices of property and, in the process, are forcing prospective buyers to align their budget accordingly.
What is the value of the property you are looking/can afford for?
The most sought-after property types remain apartments, penthouses, and maisonettes. It is worth noting that according to CBM data on advertised prices, the luxury property segment (consists of town houses, houses of character and villas) saw stronger growth than the overall Maltese property market, with prices rising by 9.5% year-on-year.
Type of property
Intention underlying the purchase plans for residential property
The survey continues to indicate that the main reason underlying the plans for the purchase of property is to move out of home (first-time buyers), albeit a drop of 6% in this mark has been registered when compared to the last edition of the survey. Noticeably, the survey indicates an increase in demand for property intended to serve either for investment purposes or as a second and/or holiday home. Such investment plans are propelled by growth in the tourism industry, and hence short-let accommodation demands. This was also confirmed in the Housing Authority 2024 annual report (page 66), which indicates that short lets are on the rise following changes in Maltese law that allowed the flexibility to lease a whole dwelling or a shared space.
Furthermore, the influx of expatriates settling in Malta, which now make up more of a quarter of Malta’s population, boosted the demand for long-term rental property. A study by the CBM suggests that 90% of tenants are non-Maltese. Such factors continue to position the buy-to-let market as an attractive avenue of income for property owners.
What is the reason for purchasing the property?
Geographical location
According to the last survey, the Western region appears to be the most sought-after area for residential property. In the 2022 edition of the Survey, the Northern Harbour region was the most preferred area, falling a spot behind in last year’s edition, and now ranking third place.
Gozo surpasses the Southern Harbour region in the rank of respondents’ preferences, a suggestion that an increasing number of residents in Malta are seeking to invest in property in Gozo for holiday and/or investment purposes.
In which area(s) are you looking to purchase property?
Aesthetic considerations
This survey also sheds light on the significant weight that prospective buyers place on the aesthetic aspect of the property when deciding on the purchase, a theme which is widely debated in Malta.
How important is the aesthetic aspect of a property in your decision to buy?
Sustainability considerations
The survey also tracks the importance attributed to sustainability factors in real estate investment decisions. The majority of respondents consider these factors to be important. However, when comparing to last year’s results, the weight of sustainability factors in the decision to buy or rent property appears to be losing traction.
How much would sustainability factors impact your decision to buy or rent a property?
Information on the market
58% of the respondents stated that they would engage a real-estate agent to sell, buy or rent a property, which contrasts to last year’s edition, where the majority indicated no appetite to engage an agent.
Would you use an agent to sell, buy or rent a property?
Do you feel there is enough information available in the market for you to make an informed decision when acquiring or renting property?
The survey also delves into the extent of information available in the market to support prospective investment decisions – and the majority is now tilting in suggesting that information in the market is not prevalent.
The number of respondents indicating that they would carry out research themselves on contracted property prices and rental rates significantly increased from the past editions, including respondents who would engage real-estate agents.
Such trends shed light on what appears to be a lack of transparency in Malta’s property market, with very limited data being available to the public.
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