Real Estate Insights report released by RE/MAX Malta

RE/MAX Malta recently published a comprehensive market research entitled the “Real Estate Insights by RE/MAX Malta”. This is a quantitative survey on the property trends and dwellings in Malta so that the agency can better understand the Maltese real estate market and deliver cutting-edge industry information to the community.

This research forms part of Re/Max’s commitment to the general public to deliver an unprecedented service to buyers and sellers in Malta and Gozo. In this way the public will be in a position to make more informed decisions when dealing with their property requirements.

The research was commissioned to Informa Consultants Limited and consisted of quantitative research through a questionnaire which also integrated a number of questions used internationally.

The objective of the study was to delve into the actual understanding of the household by asking relevant questions including: where they live, the type of dwelling, household expenditure, the number of times (if any) they moved house, any decisions they make before looking for a new home and what really emerges during their buying experience.

According to this survey, 67% of the population has never moved house whereas, on average, persons in Malta only move house 1.4 times in their lifetime. This is an interesting statistic considering the average European moves house 4 times (source: www.at-home-in-europe.eu/europeans-only-move-four-times-in-their-lives). It also takes Maltese an average of thirteen years to move home the first time, thirteen years to move the second time, and nine and eight years respectively to move the third and fourth time.

Other findings were that out of the targeted population over 18% owned a second home, of which 6% owned a dwelling abroad.  33% used their second home as an investment whereas most respondents said that their second home was used for vacations, weekends and and other purposes.

Speaking about the survey, Jeffrey Buttigieg, Chief Operating Officer, said “As a leader in the market with over 250 estate agents and 20 offices, we feel that it is our prerogative to lead the way in providing the community research results and information they need to make qualified decisions about their property requirements.”

Other results that are interesting, especially when compared to other European countries is that the Maltese population spend the least (26%) of their annual income on housing.  This result may be attributed by the fact that most European countries have annual housing taxes that are charged by respective councils.

The survey is complete and delved into number of household members, number of rooms in each household, the targeted population preferences as well as past experiences of purchasing a property on the Maltese Islands.