12
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 NOVEMBER 2026
NEWS
WITH
SAVIOUR
BALZAN
THURSDAY AT 10.15PM ON TVM
Higher property prices cushion
Demand continues
to outstrip supply
in both sales
and rentals, but
affordability
constraints are
slowing purchases
while summer
conversions to
tourist-lets tighten
the long-term
rental market,
Central Bank
finds
DEMAND for homes contin-
ues to exceed available supply,
yet high prices are increasing-
ly putting prospective buyers
off completing purchases, ac-
cording to a Central Bank of
Malta report.
At the same time, rental de-
mand is pushing rents higher.
This emerges from the Cen-
tral Bank of Malta's Business
Dialogue report for the third
quarter of 2026, prepared by
the bank's Economic Analysis
Department.
According to the report,
contacts in the real estate in-
dustry reported high levels of
activity across both property
sales and rentals. However,
deteriorating affordability has
made sales conditions more
"challenging", resulting in
fewer completed transactions
in several market segments.
Despite lower sales volumes
in some sectors, higher prop-
erty prices have compensated
for the decline in transac-
tions, helping sustain overall
market revenues.
"As regards property sales,
there were remarks of weaker
affordability and more chal-
lenging sales conditions, al-
though higher property prices
had in some cases compen-
sated for lower transaction
volumes," the Central bank
report states.
The affordability barrier is
also adding to pressure on the
rental market, as prospective
buyers unable to afford prop-
erty purchases turn to renting.
Demand for rental accommo-
dation continues to exceed
available supply, particularly
in the long-let segment.
This imbalance was fur-
ther aggravated during the
summer months as landlords
JAMES
DEBONO
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
Despite lower sales volumes in some sectors, higher property prices have compensated for the decline in transactions, helping sustain
