Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1497813
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 APRIL 2023 OPINION 5 Saviour Balzan A study on the house market in Malta and Gozo may have gone unnoticed this week; it should not. GrantThornton presented some compelling housing sta- tistics and interpretations in the second report of its kind. Per- haps it is not as exciting to read- ers as all the allegations of cor- ruption and sleaze that continue to dominate the media radar. But if you ask me, this country would do itself a big favour if it could dedicate some time and energy to the future of this is- land's footprint. GrantThornton's study reveals a trend that is unsustainable and worse still in some aspects cata- strophic for Malta. The report shows that between 2013 and 2021 house prices in- creased by 100%. This means that, on average a property with two bedrooms that sold for €120,000 in 2013 would sell at €240,000 in 2022. The price would vary as well depending on the locality. Needless to say, a family home, with a small garden and drive in and semi-detached would make you €1 million, if not more, poorer. And if one were to look at the price per square metre of all localities, some of the figures are shocking. The price per square metre in Sliema and St Julians stands at €3,642. In Swieqi, Tal-Ibrag and Bahar ic-Caghaq the price per square metre is €2,851, while in Mellieha and Xemxija it is €2,599. In Balzan, Attard, Lija and Iklin the price stands at €2,437, while in Mosta and Naxxar at €2,160. Other prices include: Qaw- ra, Bugibba and St Paul's Bay, €2,500; Gzira, Msida and Pietà, €2,490; San Gwann and Kap- para, €2,033; Marsaskala and Marsaxlokk, €2,128; Fgura, Zab- bar, Paola and Tarxien, €1,840; and Gozo, €1,751. Similar arguments can be ex- tended to the commercial prop- erty market, which features in this study for the first time. It is estimated that between 2017 and 2021, works commenced on the development of office space that would accommodate around 48,000 workers (based on 8sq.m of office space per employee). During this period, employment in sectors that entail mostly of- fice-based jobs (ICT, financial services, online gaming, etc.) in- creased by around 41,000. When also considering that the de- mand estimates do not account for the growing trend of persons working from home, the report suggests that there may be some oversupply of office space. And that is an understatement. Prices are dangerously high and putting many families, couples, individuals in a dire situation when it comes to bor- rowing. More so with budding businesses. It also drives individ- uals wanting to buy property and depending on a loan to become more aggressive in their work choices, remuneration and their demand for higher salaries and attitude towards making mon- ey and more money. The social and mental dimension was of course not measured by Grant- Thornton; after all they are in the business of numbers not mental health. The very fast upward trend in the economy in the last nine years has left many people caught up in a rat race, where it is never enough and everyone is simply wanting more. By more, they want more mon- ey. Money that will not only make them proud property own- ers but also give them the op- portunity to invest in property and sell it for a handsome profit. There is one simple word that describes this attitude – greed. The argument may seem con- voluted, but why do we need to overheat our economy, to pro- duce more than we need and to make more money than we could ever spend. To argue 'it's the economy stupid' is simply wrong. Which brings me to the most important consideration. This construction spree has ravaged our country. We have dimin- ished the natural footprint of Malta and Gozo, increased pres- sure on services, incremented our carbon emissions, devastat- ed our water and energy resourc- es and made our miniscule is- lands uglier and less inhabitable. To make matters worse, to feed the economy we have expanded our infrastructure and become constrained to bring in more foreign workers whom we pay peanuts to sustain the services that sustain us. Foreign workers are now necessary across all sec- tors; from collecting garbage to health care. It may sound Marxist but cap- italism and the thirst for more unabated growth has served to place unreasonable pressure on the quality of our life. The people who can change this and make the right moves to transform this are the politicians who directly depend on people in the construction industry to sus- tain their campaigns. Which is why they refuse to take action and only respond to the needs of a thirsty generation of business- men who have no qualms seeing the country disappear under a mound of rock, cement, cars, cranes and inexcusable ugliness. Politicians the likes of Rob- ert Abela and Bernard Grech could change all this, but they are elected by us and us includes all those people who do not see anything wrong with the present economic model. Today's pol- iticians are a reflection of their constituency. If we change they change. Talk is cheap, what is needed is a vi- sion that is motored by a desire to look to a fine future built on reasonable economic growth and the well-being of all the peo- ple. We do not need leaders who simply genuflect in front of the traditional posse of cement afi- cionados. When reports sound the wakeup call … politicians only respond to the needs of a thirsty generation of businessmen who have no qualms seeing the country disappear under a mound of rock, cement, cars, cranes and inexcusable ugliness.