Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507552
12 OPINION maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 SEPTEMBER 2023 IN August 2023, the number of final deeds of sale relating to residential property amounted to 949, a 24.6 per cent decrease when compared to those regis- tered a year earlier. The value of these deeds to- talled €263.4 million, represent- ing a decrease of 9.4 per cent when compared to the corre- sponding value recorded in Au- gust 2022. In the month under review, 869 (or 91.6 per cent) of these final deeds of sale involved individual buyers (households), with com- panies accounting for virtually all the rest. The value of the deeds involv- ing individual buyers (house- holds) amounted to €210.9 mil- lion, equivalent to 80.1 per cent of the total value). Final deeds of sale by district and by locality In August 2023, the highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the North- ern Harbour District and the Northern District, registering a total of 259 and 178 deeds, re- spectively. At 96 and 132 deeds, the lowest numbers were recorded in the Western District, and the Gozo and Comino District, respective- ly. The highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the following localities: San Pawl Il-Baħar (79), Il-Mosta (46) and Birkirkara (41). The sum of agreements re- corded in these localities corre- sponded to 17.5 per cent of the total final deeds of sale regis- tered during August 2023. Promise of sale agreements In the same month, 970 prom- ise of sale agreements relating to residential property were regis- tered, equivalent to an increase of 5.5 per cent over the previous year. Individual potential buyers (households) accounted for 893 (or 92.1 per cent) of these agree- ments, while the rest mainly in- volved companies. The largest number of prom- ise of sale agreements related to residential properties were reg- istered in the Northern Harbour District with 285 agreements, followed by the Northern Dis- trict with 210 agreements. On the other hand, the lowest figures of promise of sale agree- ments were noted in the West- ern District, and the Gozo and Comino District, at 101 and 108 agreements, respectively. The highest numbers of prom- ise of sale agreements were re- corded in the following localities: San Pawl Il-Baħar (99), L-Imsida (53) and Marsaskala (42). The sum of agreements re- corded in these localities cor- responded to 20.0 per cent of the total promise of sale agree- ments registered during Au- gust 2023. Value of final deeds of sale registered in August topped €263 million, down 9.4% from 2022 Industrial output in July 2023 increased by 2.2 per cent when compared to July 2022 Number of final deeds of sale registered by locality in August 2023 IN July 2023, the index of indus- trial production increased by 2.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2022. When excluding energy, the index increased by 3.6 per cent. The monthly Index of Indus- trial Production (IIP) is a busi- ness cycle indicator. It provides an early measure of change in the volume of in- dustrial output produced by do- mestic businesses in the manu- facturing, energy, and quarrying sectors in Malta. Manufacturing output In July 2023, manufacturing output went up by 3.5 per cent. The largest upward change was registered in the production of chemical and pharmaceu- tical products (31.2 per cent) followed by the production of wood, paper products and printing (25.3 per cent) and the production of computer, elec- tronic and optical products and motor vehicles (7.9 per cent). On the other hand, rubber, plastic and other non-metallic, other manufacturing and the production of food products and beverages fell by 8.4 per cent, 7.0 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively. Industrial output The Main Industrial Group- ings (MIGs) provide an alter- native statistical breakdown of economic activities wclassified according to end-use catego- ries. They combine several NACE divisions, groups and classes together (see methodological table for further information). In July 2023, the production of consumer goods and inter- mediate goods increased by 5.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent re- spectively. On the contrary, there was a drop of 3.2 per cent in the pro- duction of energy and 1.7 per cent in the production of cap- ital goods. A clearer picture of the eco- nomic developments can be obtained when indices are ad- justed for seasonal effects. These recurring effects are re- moved from the index series to enable month-to month com- parisons. The seasonally adjusted index of industrial production for July 2023 increased by 3.3 per cent when compared to June 2023 and stood at 112.2 index points (2015=100).