The advertised price of residential property stabilised in the second quarter of the year following a drop in the first three months compared to the same quarter in 2010, according to the Central Bank.

Its survey showed that in the first quarter prices had declined by 2.6 per cent over January-March last year. The second quarter, however, saw the same prices as in April-June 2010.

The prices of maisonettes rose by an annual 5.6 per cent while those for apartments, which make up almost 60 per cent of the sampled properties, were up by 3.3 per cent.

On the other hand, asking prices for terraced houses dropped by 2.5 per cent while prices in the “other” category, which consists of townhouses, houses of character and villas, fell by 1.4 per cent, largely as a result of a reduction in asking prices for houses of character.

The survey also noted that the number of building permits issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority between April and June increased by 13 per cent over the previous three months.

According to the report, this was mainly due a higher number of approved permits for apartments, which accounted for over 80 per cent of the total issued.

Compared to the same time the year before, however, the overall number of permits granted dropped by 17.4 per cent, reflecting the exceptionally high number approved a year earlier.

The report says that the number of advertised properties for sale between April and June grew by 14.6 per cent over the same period last year, reversing a 9.9 per cent decline in the previous three months.