House price madness

I regularly come over to holiday in Malta from England and stay in Qawra. I have a great affection for Malta and Gozo and am thinking about retiring here in the next five years.

There is one obstacle to doing so - your house prices are far too high. To buy a reasonable, detached family house with three or four bedrooms with garden and garage the estate agents are advertising the asking prices of anything between Lm200,000 and Lm300,000, which is between £400,000 and £500,000.

There is a falling property market in England which means that there will be less interest in Malta as anyone able to sell a house in England will be moving to France or Spain to retire - house prices there are half the price and better value than in Malta.

I think property owners in Malta should wake up and be realistic about their asking prices in future. Otherwise you will miss the boat and France, Spain and Portugal will benefit.