Malta Property News, 12 November 2026: Asking Prices Up 10%
The median asking price for an apartment in Malta is now €350,000. That is €33,000 more than a year ago, and you get about 6 square metres less for it. Both numbers come from KPMG's tenth Construction Industry and Property Market Report, presented at the National Property Conference on 6 November, and they frame most of this week's news.
Apartment asking prices up 10% to €350,000
KPMG looked at thousands of homes advertised for sale in July and August. The median apartment asking price rose 10% on 2025, after an 11% rise the year before, and now sits about 32% above 2019. Terraced houses moved fastest, up around 16.8% to €725,000, while maisonettes climbed 15% to €426,000 and penthouses reached €455,000.
Two caveats matter. These are asking prices, so they show what sellers hope to get rather than what changes hands at the notary. And the average finished apartment shrank from 123 to 117 square metres, which is roughly a small spare bedroom gone. If you are comparing a 2024 listing with one today, compare the price per square metre, not the headline figure.
Location still explains most of the gap. A three-bedroom apartment in the Northern Harbour region (Sliema, St Julian's, Gżira and the towns around them) had a median asking price of €687,500. The same size in Gozo was €275,000.
Source: MaltaToday
Northern Harbour rents up 14%, North West slightly down
The same report tracked advertised rents. The Northern Harbour had the highest median asking rent at €1,600 a month, up €200 (14.3%) on last year. The Grand Harbour followed at €1,500, the Central region held steady at €1,400 and the South rose 4.2% to €1,250. The North West went the other way, slipping 3.7% to €1,300.
Across the sample, 74% of apartments were advertised above €1,200 a month, up from 60% a year earlier, and KPMG found no listings under €800. For landlords the more useful figure may be yield: one-bedroom apartments in the South showed an indicative gross yield of 6.2%, against 2.9% for three-bedroom flats in the Northern Harbour. Bigger and more central does not always win on paper. Keep in mind that these are asking rents, not the figures on registered contracts, and that increases on existing long lets are capped at 5% a year.
Source: MaltaToday
Construction and property worth around €2.1 billion to the economy
KPMG also put a number on the sector's weight: construction and property-related activity generated about €2.1 billion for the economy in 2025. By March this year construction directly employed around 22,000 full-time workers, and more than 27,000 once property-related jobs are added. That is close to 8% of all full-time employment in Malta, which is why every policy change in this area gets so much attention.
Source: TVMnews
DC15 design policy review heads to consultation
At the close of the conference, Jonathan Attard, Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Labour, said a public consultation on the aims of a DC15 review would launch in the coming weeks. DC15 is the policy that guides how buildings in Malta are designed, and the priorities he listed were architectural quality, the protection of built heritage and residential quality. A review of local plans, split into themes, is due to start in the coming months.
It is too early to say what will change. If you own a site or an older property you might redevelop one day, this consultation is worth following, because design rules shape what you can build and, in the end, what the site is worth.
Source: TVMnews
ECB holds rates at 2.50%
On 29 October the European Central Bank left its three key rates unchanged, with the deposit facility rate at 2.50% and the main refinancing rate at 2.65%. That follows two quarter-point rises earlier this year, in June and September, and the ECB said it is not committing to any particular path from here.
For buyers, a pause gives you time to plan, but it is not a promise. Local bank rates do not follow Frankfurt one for one, so ask your bank how your rate is set and whether a fixed period is available before you sign a promise of sale.
Source: European Central Bank
What we're telling clients this week
If you're buying on a modest income, look hard at the numbers. By KPMG's own maths, a young couple earning about €36,000 between them can afford only around 36% of the finished apartments on the market. Widening the search to the South or Gozo usually does more for you than stretching the loan.
If you're selling, the rise in asking prices is real, but buyers have read the same report. Price on recent comparable sales and on condition, not on the most ambitious listing in your street.
If you're a landlord, judge a property on yield rather than rent alone, and register every lease with the Housing Authority. If you're renting, the Central and North West regions were flat or slightly cheaper this year, which may be worth a look if Sliema is out of reach.
For anything specific to your own purchase or lease, check the details with your bank, notary or lawyer.
Thinking of buying, selling or letting in Malta? Talk to the Alliance by LBM team, or browse current listings at alliance.mt.
