The latest release of the nation’s latest census, taken in 2021, has revealed just how fast construction has been taking place in this country.

It found that a steady growth of 7,345 dwellings per was year observed over the past ten years. That’s a staggering 73,450 dwellings in that period. Is this really sustainable? Not really.

The country had a total dwelling stock in 2021 of 297,304.

The country has been suffering serious issues due to overdevelopment. Lack of planning has led to apartment blocks not having a designated area for residents to place rubbish, meaning that such rubbish ends up on the pavement. Streets in a number of urban areas are not capable of handling the sheer increase in traffic that has been observed. The Planning Authority did not really keep good standards in terms of the look of localities, allowing hotchpotch designs ruin streetscapes. The lack of green areas in urban localities is another problem, and only recently has the government put an emphasis on this issue, when in reality this should have been a focus for years. The list goes on.

Of course the increase in the number of dwellings is tied to the country’s population growth, which was based on the government’s economic model. Too much focus was placed on the need to keep growing the population to meet the need for more employees, and nowhere near enough focus was placed on ensuring that the country could handle the issues this would bring. This boils down to a lack of planning. Better preparation by the government for those impacts could have helped avoid a number of issues the country is currently facing.

Another point worth mentioning is that 45% of the dwellings in Gozo are listed as ‘Secondary, seasonally used or vacant dwellings’, yet there are clear concerns about the amount of construction on the island.

Another interesting point, across the Maltese islands, was that, “for the first time ever, flats and penthouses dominated as the main places of residence (48.4%)” This isn’t surprising, given property prices.

Looking at rents, and comparing with the previous census held in 2011, one can see a clear skyrocketing impact.

Whereas In 2011 the median rented furnished occupied dwelling cost €3,537 a year to rent, equivalent to €294.75 a month, the 2021 census saw the median cost of a main residential dwelling set at €700 a month. Now obviously one needs to take inflation into account, but this shows quite a rise.

Malta has a problem. There is too much construction, yet property is still too expensive. Our urban areas feel too densely built up… yet property is still too expensive as the demand is likely still high. A change in economic model is needed to reduce the number of employees the country needs to attract, while still keeping economic growth and improving the quality of jobs, as that would possibly put less pressure on the housing market. The government’s economists need to get to work on finding the best way forward.