Housing in Malta

Abstract

Housing in Malta is seen to serve both capital investment and social purposes, with the relative emphasis alternating from one to the other along the various stages of Maltese economic and political history. Housing policy in Malta has seen phases of vigorous state involvement; for instance, between 1971 and 1987, more government dwellings were constructed than private ones (Vakili-Zad, 2007). The promotion of home ownership has been the pillar of Maltese post-colonial housing policy; indeed, four in five households owned their own home in 2019 (Eurostat, 2021). Investment in the property market has traditionally been very strong, with the main residence representing 53.5% of total real assets owned by the Maltese (Gaskin et al., 2017). The steady increase in property prices over the years has represented a significant increase in wealth for property-owning households. The main domestic banks’ disposition to make credit available to households for house purchases and a burgeoning property sector created a stable equilibrium that, saving minor shocks caused by EU accession and the 2008 economic crisis, warranted a reduced degree of State involvement in the housing market.