Promises of sale at par with previous year – official statistics

Activity levels tend to fall slightly over the summer months as holidays delay the buying process but once the distractions of summer holidays are gone, estate agents hope buyers will once again be able to focus their attention on their property search.

Official statistics obtained by MaltaToday from the Capital Transfer Section within the Inland Revenue Department of last year's and this year's number of promises of sale for the first six months show that that promises of sale ('konvenji') are on par with previous year.

"So far this year there have been (until July) 4,448 promises of sale, which is on par with the levels registered by the same period last year, that of 4,582," a spokesman for the Finance Ministry told MaltaToday.

Such statistics seem to have brought about mixed feelings among property professionals, some of whom told MaltaToday that the real picture is that  sales in property had dropped when compared to previous years.

Notary Roland Wadge, president, Kunsill Nutarili ta' Malta, didn't paint too rosy a picture, stating that "it's no secret that property isn't as good as it was two to three years ago, and this is reflected in the amount of promises of sales, when compared to previous years.

When asked if the summer season is to blame for the decline, Wadge replied: "Summer's not the reason. Promises of sale have been on the decline for the past three years."

Back in February, developers, building contractors and estate agents issued a warning over the "precarious" property market they were experiencing, warning of deteriorating conditions in the prevailing climate of economic uncertainty, stating that the property market slowdown had seen banks complaining that requests for house loans had reduced drastically.

When contacted by MaltaToday, Michael Falzon, president, Malta Developers Association, said that "property sales always drop during the summer season and this year was no exception.

"It is not much use considering this seasonal drop in sales on its own as it is always expected, however, according to our members, sales in the first six months of the year had already decreased when compared to previous years. This is the real problem as the drop this summer is a result from a lower level of sales.

"The government should start publishing the number and value of registered 'konvenji' (promises of sale) each month so that we could actually determine how the property market is faring in a more realistic manner."

Mauro Sammut, one of Remax Specialists franchisees, seemed positive over the property situation and said that although house hunting during the month of August was lower when compared to other months since most people are on vacation, Remax was still busy with requests for property.

"On the whole, requests for property have remained as is.  We have always been busy and since our office works with one to one clients, nothing has really changed in this regard. The only difference is that August has seen a lower amount of clients requesting to view properties, a normal situation considering August to be the 'holidaying' month."