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5 INTERVIEW 30.6.2022 about" sustainable - report The Rental Price Index measures the rate of change in the rental price of housing units in Malta over time. The Rental Price Index shows that a housing unit that rented for €500 per month in 2013H1 would have been renting for €710 per month in 2022H1. This represents a significant increase. In the second half of 2019, the annual growth in the Selling Price Index turned marginally negative and grew slowly in 2020H1. In part, these developments were the result of the uncertainty caused by the political turmoil in the latter months of 2019 and the introduction of a series of restrictive measures in March and April of 2020 in relation to developments resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. A similar trend is observed in the number of final deeds of sale reported by the National Statistics Office (NSO). The figure above shows that these dropped by 21% in 2020 when compared to 2019; mainly reflecting developments that occurred throughout the first half of that year. In the following periods, activity in the housing market picked up again as many property seekers sought to benefit from stamp duty exemptions that the Government of Malta introduced as part of its COVID-19 economic recovery plan. A survey carried out with 268 respondents in June 2020 had shown that these measures would likely incentivise as many as 57% of property seekers to either 'buy sooner' or 'buy more expensive' than they originally intended, or both. In line with these expectations, NSO reports that 3,978 promise of sale (POS) agreements were signed in the first quarter of 2021 alone. However, in 2022H1, growth in the Selling House Price Index was marginal, in part reflecting a decline of around 33% in the number of POS agreements when the first quarter of 2022 is compared to the same period in the previous year. This reflects the anticipated expiration of the stamp duty exemption that had incentivised people to bring forward their property purchases to 2021. Rental Price Index Annual Percentage Change (%) Rental Price Index Number of Final Deeds of Sale (annual) Number of Promise of Sale Agreements (quarter 1) Figure 3 Number of Final Deeds of Sale (annual) Source: National Statistics Office 'buy sooner' or 'buy more expensive' than they originally intended, or both. 1 In line with these expectations, NSO reports that 3,978 promise of sale (POS) agreements were signed in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Figure 4 shows that activity picked Figure 4 Number of Promise of Sale Agreements (quarter 1) Source: National Statistics Office However, in 2022H1, growth in the Selling House Index was marginal, in part reflecting a decline 33% in the number of POS agreements when quarter of 2022 is compared to the same period previous year. This reflects the anticipated expiration the stamp duty exemption that had incentivised to bring forward their property purchases to 1Survey conducted by Grant Thornton on Property Market Perceptions of property seekers, developers, landlords and tenants. The Rental Price Index measures the rate of change in the rental price of housing units in Malta over time. 16 ©2022 Grant Thornton. All rights reserved. Figure 5 Rental Price Index (2013H1=100) Figure 5 shows that the Rental Price Index increased by 42% over the nine-year period to 2022H1. The Rental Price Index shows that a housing unit that rented for €500 per month in 2013H1 would have been renting for €710 per month in 2022H1. This represents a significant increase. 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 2013H1 2014H1 2015H1 2016H1 2017H1 2018H1 2019H1 2020H1 2021H1 2022H1 Such steep prices are in marked contrast to those that prevailed in the Maltese rental market in earlier years. For ©2022 Grant Thornton. All rights reserved. 17 Figure 6 Annual Percentage Change (%) Rental Price Index (CBM) reports that the average length of stay of foreign workers in Malta is only three and a half years. 3 Thus,

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