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2 NEWS 16.3.2023 2022 was a year where Europe faced nu- merous challenges: the war in Ukraine, an energy crisis, tightening monetary policy, supply chain challenges, con- tinuous spikes in general inflation, and fears of a global recession. On a local level this has meant short- ages in products, and a steep rise in the cost of living resulting in subsidies and a higher COLA for residents and citizens to keep up with growing costs. Against this backdrop, the EY-Djar report looks at the already volatile property market in Malta for 2022 to see how the sur- rounding factors affected the sector. e volume of deeds remained sta- ble in 2022 (14,305) compared to 2021 (14,368). While promise of sale agree- ments were substantially down in 2022 (12,177) compared to 2021 (15,639) due to the expiration of the COVID-19 stamp duty scheme, but up 8.2% on 2020. is upward trend continues to be observed in more recent statistics published for 2023. Residential property listings e Northern Harbour has the largest shares of residential listings (37%) and the highest share of apartments listings (43%), while the Western region has the last number of listings on the market. Previously, this used to be held by Gozo which currently has the lowest average asking price even though it experienced increases in all property types in rela- tion to average €/sqm by property type. On the other hand, the South-East- ern and Northern regions experienced decreases in relation to average €/sqm by property type, possibly pointing to- wards a gradual convergence in prices. e asking price per square metre for apartments has increased across all regions, while asking prices for town- houses in Gozo have declined. Overall, asking prices remained rela- tively flat with any increases or decreas- es being within the +/- 1% range. Rent Median rents are higher in the North- ern region, as has been in the past and largely in line with regional observa- tions for sale price data. O n the other hand, median rents tended to be lowest in Gozo for almost all prop- erty types. In general, apartment yields vary somewhere between 4-5%. However, higher yields of around 7% are recorded in main property locations such as St. Julian's, Sliema and Valletta, which ap- pear to be recovering well post-COVID on the back of increased demand for apartments and tourist private accom- modation rentals. Commercial properties for sale e highest asking prices per square metre are mostly found in the North- ern Harbour, Northern and Western regions. Year-on-year average asking prices were up for hotels (6.9%), shops (1.5%) and storage facilities (11.7%), but down for catering (4%), offices (1.2%) and showrooms (0.2%). In addition, there was a quar- ter-on-quarter increase in asking prices for all property types except hotels. e latter was down 9.1%. Commercial properties for rent Median rental asking prices per square metre are mostly highest in the North- ern Harbour and Southern Harbour region across all the different property types. Meanwhile in offices, the median ask- ing price per square metre was approx- imately €215/square metre – with the highest figure observed in St Julian's (€316) and the lowest in Naxxar (€101) – a clear discrepancy between highest and lowest points. 2022 property market overview Figure A4 portrays the average €/sqm asking price by property type across regions, together with their change on prior year values (YoY change). The data reveals that only Gozo experienced in- creases in all property types, whilst the South Eastern and Northern regions experienced decreas- es. This could also point towards a gradual convergence in prices, where lower valued regions are converging towards the upper valued regions. From a property type perspective, apartments have shown an average price increase across all regions, whilst townhouses show downward movements. Figure A4: Average prices per sqm by property type and region The table above portrays the average €/sqm asking price by property type across regions, together with their change on prior year values (YoY change). The data reveals that only Gozo experienced in creases in all property types, whilst the South Eastern and Northern regions experienced decreases. This could also point towards a gradual convergence in prices, where lower valued regions are converging towards the upper valued regions. From a property type perspective, apartments have shown an average price increase across all regions, whilst townhouses show downward movements. MAPFRE Middlesea has launched commercial home insurance to meet the needs of landlords who are look- ing to insure their rental properties and protect themselves against po- tential financial losses when the un- expected happens. is innovative product offers many improved ben- efits and options to landlords. e new Commercial Home insur- ance policy provides coverage for personal belongings in the event of theft, fire, or other covered events, allowing the insured to replace or repair items such as furniture, elec- tronics, clothing, and more, without having to bear the full cost. e policy also includes liability coverage, in the event that someone is injured in the rented property and decides to sue the landlord. is coverage will also cover any damag- es that the tenants may cause to the rented property. is new Commercial Home in- surance is more affordable than one would expect, especially when taking into consideration the cost of replacing and rebuilding. Invest- ing in this policy is a wise financial decision. e insurance also comes with Home Assistance, a 24 hour 365 days a year Emergency Service in the event of a sudden and unfore- seen incident at the rented property. Most tenants consider it an ad- vantage for the landlord to have the property they call home insured. With this insurance in place, the landlord won't hesitate to replace or repair items that have been broken, allowing their lives to return to nor- mal as quickly as possible. MAPFRE Middlesea has launched this policy in line with its business philosophy "We care about what matters to you" said Boris Curmi Commercial Chief Officer and we want to provide added value so our clients can live with peace of mind knowing that their assets are prop- erly taken care of. MAPFRE Middlesea launches commercial home insurance policy

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