The number of permits for homes issued by Mepa went up by 8.6 per cent in 2014 – to 2,937 from 2,705 a year before – but still well below the peak of 11,343 seen in 2007, according to the Central Bank of Malta’s Annual Report.

The number of permits for apartments went up from 2,062 to 2,221, with maisonettes also seeing a surge, from 350 to 414.

Last year was a good year for property prices, which went up by an average of seven per cent, compared with 2.1 per cent a year earlier. The CBM said that the strong growth was partly influenced by government policy measures, such as the introduction of the citizenship scheme, and a tax incentive to first-time buyers of residential property. Only the price of maisonettes went down – albeit by just 0.5 per cent, with apartments seeing an increase of 8.1 per cent and prices of terraced houses, houses of character, villas and townhouses going up by 12.8 per cent.