Statistics in this release have been reclassified under 6 districts and 16 clusters of localities.
This news release presents provisional data on residential property sale transactions based on the date of registration with the tax authority.
Final deeds of sale
In January 2023, the number of final deeds of sale relating to residential property amounted to 1,097, a 4.5 per cent decrease when compared to those registered a year earlier (Table 1a). The value of these deeds totalled €290.5 million, 16.2 per cent higher than the corresponding value recorded in January 2022 (Table 2a).
In the month under review, 998, or 91.0 per cent, of these final deeds of sale involved individual buyers (households), with companies accounting for virtually all the rest (Table 1b). The value of the deeds involving individual buyers (households) amounted to €221.7 million, equivalent to 76.3 per cent of the total value (Table 2b).
Final deeds of sale by district and by cluster of localities
In January 2023, the highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the Northern Harbour District and the Northern District, registering a total of 314 and 194 deeds, respectively. On the other hand, the lowest numbers of deeds were registered in the Western District, followed by the South Eastern District, with 104 and 138 deeds, respectively (Table 3).
Chart 1. Registered final deeds of sale
Monthly
No Data Found
For the purpose of this release, the districts were further sub-divided into clusters of localities as presented in Tables 3 and 5. Cluster 4 (Il-Ħamrun, Tal-Pietà, Santa Venera, L-Imsida, Birkirkara, Ħal Qormi) recorded the highest number of final deeds of sale in February 2023, totalling 140. The second highest number was recorded in Cluster 14 (Il-Mellieħa, San Pawl Il-Baħar, L-Imġarr), with 133 deeds. Cluster 1 (Valletta, Il-Furjana, Il-Marsa) and Cluster 9 (Ħal Għaxaq, Ħal Kirkop, L-Imqabba, Il-Qrendi, Il-Gudja) registered the lowest count of deeds at 18 and 22, respectively.
Promise of sale agreements
In February 2023, 1,032 promise of sale agreements relating to residential property were registered, equivalent to an increase of 6.9 per cent over the previous year (Table 4a). Individual potential buyers (households) accounted for 944 or 91.5 per cent of these agreements, while the rest mainly involved companies (Table 4b).
Promise of sale agreements by district and by cluster of localities
The largest number of promise of sale agreements corresponded to residential properties in the Northern Harbour District with 312 agreements, followed by the Northern District with 192 agreements. On the other hand, the lowest figures of promise of sale agreements were noted in the Western District, and the Gozo and Comino District, at 95 and 121 agreements, respectively.
The clusters with the highest number of agreements were Cluster 4 (Il-Ħamrun, Tal-Pietà, Santa Venera, L-Imsida, Birkirkara, Ħal Qormi), with a total of 171 agreements, and Cluster 14 (Il-Mellieħa, San Pawl Il-Baħar, L-Imġarr), totalling 115 agreements. At 13 and 19 agreements, the lowest numbers were recorded in Cluster 12 (Ħal Balzan, L-Iklin, Ħal Lija) and Cluster 1 (Valletta, Il-Furjana, Il-Marsa), respectively (Table 5).
Additional Tables and Charts
Methodological Notes
1. This news release presents data on property transactions based on final deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements (‘konvenji’) registered with the tax authority. The qualifier ‘period of registration’ common to the tables refers to such registration. Basing the data on the period when the final deed of sale or promise of sale agreement is registered with the tax authority, rather than when it is signed, is considered to produce more timely information.
2. The scope of this release follows the classification of the administrative data source, and includes only those transactions classified as ‘residential’ by the source. The data presented covers the following property types: airspace, boathouse, bungalow, farmhouse, flat/apartment, garage, garden, house, maisonette, penthouse, plot of land, semi-detached villa, terraced house, ‘terran’, urban tenement, and villa.
3. Excluded are transactions classified as ‘commercial’, comprising of business premises and warehouse/storeroom, and those classified as ‘other’, a category that incorporates car space, field, grave and redemption of ground rent, amongst others.
4. Therefore, deeds/agreements relating to land for residential purposes (‘plot of land’) are included, while those pertaining to land for non-residential purposes (‘field’) are not.
5. Only deeds/agreements relating to the sale of property, which also includes sale by auction (‘subasta’) and sale after assignment of rights, are considered. Therefore, donations and exchanges, amongst others, are not included.
6. In the light of notes 2, 3, 4 and 5, this release must be viewed as a sub-set of all the property transactions and activities registered with the tax authority that take place during a given period.
7. In some cases, more than one property is listed under the same final deed of sale or promise of sale agreement. This release reports the number of registered final deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements, and not the number of properties falling under these deeds/agreements.
8. The residential property transactions considered are not limited to individuals (households), but may also involve other economic agents. Besides individuals, the administrative data source distinguishes between companies, authorities and bodies of persons.
9. The districts and clusters incorporating localities in Tables 3 and 5 correspond to the location of the property which has been or shall be purchased, not to the place of residence of the buyer or seller.
10. To achieve consistency, the methodological concepts used are aligned to the extent possible with the House Price Index concepts.
11. Users are reminded of several factors which might inhibit comparability between data on final deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements. These differences include: a) the time lag between promise of sale agreements and final deeds of sale; b) certain property being sold without a promise of sale agreement; and c) some promise of sale agreements falling through before the final contract is signed.
12. Data is provisional and subject to revisions, which may arise following updates in the source data.
- More information relating to this news release may be accessed at Classification of Regions based on Property Prices.
A longer quarterly time series is available in Annexes A and B in the Excel version of this news release, available at: 019/2023.
- References to this news release are to be cited appropriately.
- A detailed news release calendar is available online.
- The number of final deeds of sale relating to residential property amounted to 1,097 during January 2023, a decrease of 52 deeds when compared to those registered a year earlier.
- During January 2023, 921 promise of sale agreements relating to residential property were registered, an increase of 258 agreements over the same period last year.
