2010 saw considerable revival when it comes to property in Malta and 2011 is expected to be even better announced Frank Salt Real Estate Managing Director Joseph Lupi during the annual general conference held last month at the Corinthia San Gorg Hotel. The company in fact registered substantial growth in all its 12 branches and has seen interest in property practically bounce back to pre global recession levels.
Key was the company’s overseas operations, which registered the largest increase in business activity, with strong interest from the UK, South Africa, Western Europe, Russia and the Scandinavian market. “It is good to see that the British are once again looking at buying or renting in Malta,” said Mr Lupi. “Notwithstanding the adverse housing market in the UK, the drop in the value of sterling against the euro and other negative factors, the British are increasingly eager to buy property in Malta, and possibly even more than before, with the majority strongly considering the option of relocating to the islands. This is very positive for Malta and not only where it comes to the property market, but also when one considers the ripple effect this has on the economy.”
“What is worrying,” added Mr Lupi, “is the fact that government has recently frozen the permanent residency application process until further notice.” Such a measure is very unfavourable, particularly at this point in time when the market has started to slowly recover, and when interest from foreigners is increasing again, not to mention the substantial loss throughout other economic activity that is derived from such residents. We have already come across a good number of clients who gave up on Malta purely because of this matter and have moved their attention to other countries such as Portugal, Cyprus, Spain, France and Italy.”
The permanent residency scheme is a very attractive incentive that allows foreign nationals to take up residency in Malta, subject to their meeting strict criteria. Such scheme has been temporarily halted and is currently being reviewed. However, according to sources close to the government, it seems that the related entities are dragging their feet in coming up with a concrete revised scheme. This has led to major loss of business in the property market, which is not only affecting real estate companies, but also developers, furniture companies and other related enterprises.
In his speech, Mr Lupi confirmed that with regard to the local market, this had stabilised itself with a positive increase over 2009 figures. This was attributed mainly to the favourable home loan interest rates, the extensive choice of great value properties, and the increasing demand for buy-to-let properties. The company registered a marginal improvement in sales to second time buyers, and the average value of properties sold also improved over that of 2009. The same can be said for the letting operations of the company, which have also exceeded all expectations.
2010 also saw the opening of a new branch dedicated to residential letting and commercial property. Throughout the year Frank Salt concentrated on consolidating its existing team of property consultants, while also engaging more professionals. This was backed by aggressive training and other internal initiatives, as well as the introduction of higher yield remuneration packages. Activity in the commercial property sector has also been very promising with increasing interest in office space, particularly from overseas. The company was also very active overseas and participated in over 20 public initiatives throughout the year.