ViIlas drop in value, maisonettes grow more expensive – what KPMG’s report says about property prices in Malta

Villas have seen a marked decrease in their average asking price while still commanding prices at the higher end of the property spectrum, while mid-price and high-end penthouse prices seem to be converging.

These are among the findings in audit and advisory firm KPMG’s latest repot on Malta’s real estate sector, conducted in conjunction with the Property Malta Foundation.

The report contains a detailed analysis of Malta’s real estate prices by type of property, revealing interesting movements and developments over the last year.

KPMG used a dataset of asking prices collected from real estate agencies’ websites collected between June and September 2023. It included a total of 19,133 data points.

The asking prices were analysed for their average value (the mean of all property prices divided by the amount) and their median value (the middle value between the lowest and highest asking prices).

The report found an increase of approximately 40 per cent in property values over the last six years, with a compounded annual growth rate of around six per cent.

Apartments saw a modest increase of around 1.5 per cent, while the median only rose by 0.2 per cent.

The report’s authors posited that this marginal increase may be attributed to the perceived stabilisation of property prices.

For penthouses, meanwhile, the average asking price declined by 5.7 per cent even as their median price increased by the same proportion. Specifically, the average price for penthouses stood at €460,904, while the median was €369,800.

KMPG noted that the figures reflect a situation where a substantial portion of penthouses listed for sale (900, constituting 29 per cent of the total) fall within the €300,000 to €400,000 range.

Penthouses therefore seem to be converging in price, overturning a long-running trend that seemingly split the market into mid-price and high-end properties.

In terms of size, the average total internal area for penthouses registered an 8.8 per cent increase from 2022 to 2023, from 136sqm to 148sqm.

When it comes to maisonettes, these saw an increase in both their average and median asking prices, of 2.4 per cent and four per cent respectively. KPMG observed that the number of maisonettes in its dataset has expanded.

As for terraced houses, the study revealed a “notable trend favouring lower-priced properties” driving a downward shift in the average and median asking prices by 0.9 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively.

In fact, while properties under €400,000 comprised 17.5 per cent of the market in 2022, their share increased to 22.6 per cent in 2023.

However, the authors point out a limitation in the available data – terraced houses in the lower range are often branded as townhouses, which typically command lower prices.

They also draw attention to the geographic distribution of listings, arguing that this is “essential” for a better understanding of these findings.

“In our 2023 sample, a significant proportion, 25.5 per cent and 23.8 per cent of all terraced house listings were located in the Southern and Central regions, respectively. This shift indicates that some traditionally more affordable regions expanded their share of total listings, in contrast to regions known for higher property prices.”

Notably, villas registered a significant decline in their average and median asking prices, by 11.6 per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively, although a majority (68 per cent) remain within the high-end price category, being listed at €1.3 million and above.