Property prices stabilised in the second quarter of this year after declining at an annual rate of 2.6% in the first quarter, the Central Bank said today.

Reporting on its survey of advertised property prices, the bank said prices in the second quarter were unchanged from their year-ago level.

The survey showed increases and decreases in the prices of different categories
of dwellings.

The most significant increase during the second quarter was recorded in prices of maisonettes, which rose by an annual 5.6%. At the same time, prices of apartments, which make up almost three-fifths of the sampled properties, saw an increase of 3.3%.

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

In the June quarter, the number of advertised property for sale grew by 14.6% on a year earlier, as against a 9.9% decline in the previous quarter.

The number of building permits issued by the Malta Environment and Planning
Authority between April and June increased by 13.0% on the previous quarter. This was mostly due a higher number of approved permits for apartments, which
accounted for over four-fifths of the total issued.

On a year-on-year basis, however, the overall number of permits granted
dropped by 17.4%, reflecting the exceptionally high number approved a year earlier.