Property: final deeds down, promise of sale agreements up in March – NSO

In March 2023, the number of final deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements relating to residential property amounted to 1,036 and 1,172, respectively, the NSO said Wednesday.

In relation to the amounts registered in 2022, the final deeds of sale decreased by 12.9 per cent, whereas promise of sale agreements increased by 5.3 per cent.

Final deeds of sale

March 2023

In March 2023, the number of final deeds of sale relating to residential property amounted to 1,036, a 12.9 per cent decrease when compared to those registered a year earlier. The value of these deeds totalled €249.1 million, representing a drop of 4.5 per cent when compared to the corresponding value recorded in March 2022.

In the month under review, 963, or 93.0 per cent, of these final deeds of sale involved individual buyers (households), with companies accounting for virtually all the rest. The value of the deeds involving individual buyers (households) amounted to €207.1 million, equivalent to 83.1 per cent of the total value.

Final deeds of sale by district and by locality

In March 2023, the highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the Northern Harbour District and the Northern District, registering a total of 322 and 239 deeds, respectively. At 82 and 122 deeds, the lowest numbers were recorded in the Western District and the Southern Harbour District, respectively.

The highest number of final deeds of sale was recorded in the following localities: St Paul’s Bay (97), Il-Mosta (55), Ħaż-Żabbar (41) and Birkirkara (40). The sum of contracts recorded in these localities corresponded to more than 22.0 per cent of the total final deeds of sale registered during March 2023.

Q1/2023

In the first quarter of 2023, 3,088 final deeds of sale were registered, an annual decrease of 9.4 per cent (Table 1a). The value of the deeds registered during this period went up by 3.2 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year and amounted to €789.9 million. The highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the localities of San Pawl Il-Baħar (262), L-Imsida (126) and Il-Mosta (117).

Promise of sale agreements

March 2023

In March 2023, 1,172 promise of sale agreements relating to residential property were registered, equivalent to an increase of 5.3 per cent over the previous year. Individual potential buyers (households) accounted for 1,058 or 90.3 per cent, of these agreements, 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 369 agreements, followed by the Northern District with 201 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 115 and 143 agreements, respectively.

The highest numbers of promise of sale agreements were recorded in the following localities: St Paul’s Bay (84), Birkirkara (61), San Ġiljan (53) and Mosta (47). The sum of agreements recorded in these localities exceeded 20.0 per cent of the total amount of promise of sale agreements registered during March 2023.

Q1/2023

In the first quarter of 2023, the number of promise of sale agreements reached 3,125, representing an annual increase of 14.0 per cent. The highest numbers of promise of sale agreements were recorded in the localities of St Paul’s Bay (252), Birkirkara (166), and Mosta (133).