Final deeds of sale drop in May when compared to a year earlier, promises of sale rise

In May the number of final deeds of sale relating to residential property amounted to 1,080, a 13.7% decrease when compared to those registered a year earlier, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said. “The value of these deeds totalled €252.5m, representing a decrease of 8% when compared to the corresponding value recorded in May 2022.”

“In the month under review, there were 978 final deeds of sale involving individual buyers (households), representing 90.6% of the total, with companies accounting for virtually all the rest. The value of the deeds involving individual buyers (households) amounted to €208.3mn, equivalent to 82.5% of the total value.”

Final deeds of sale by district and by locality

In May, the highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the Northern Harbour District and the Northern District, registering a total of 317 and 192 deeds, respectively. At 102 and 146 deeds, the lowest numbers were recorded in the Western District and the Gozo and Comino District, respectively.

The highest number of final deeds of sale were recorded in the following localities: San Pawl il-Baħar (92), Birkirkara (49), Tas-Sliema (46) and Marsascala (41). The sum of contracts recorded in these localities corresponded to 21.1% of the total final deeds of sale registered during May.

Promise of sale agreements

In May, 1,304 promise of sale agreements relating to residential property were registered, equivalent to an increase of 15.9% over the previous year. Individual potential buyers (households) accounted for 1,209 of these agreements, representing 92.7% of the total, while the rest mainly involved companies.

Promise of sale agreements by district and by locality

The largest number of promise of sale agreements related to residential properties in the Northern Harbour District with 373 agreements, followed by the Northern District with 258 agreements. On the other hand, the lowest figures of promise of sale agreements were noted in the Western District and the Gozo and Comino District, at 120 and 167 agreements, respectively.

The highest numbers of promise of sale agreements were recorded in the following localities: San Pawl il-Baħar (124), Tas-Sliema (54), Birkirkara (50) and Marsascala (49) (Chart 2b). The sum of agreements recorded in these localities accounted for 21.2% of the total amount of promise of sale agreements registered during May.