Many Maltese revert back to the lira when buying property. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Two-thirds of Maltese still convert prices back to liri when considering large purchases, a recent study has found.

“When getting into big financial commitments I still see clients mulling over the price in old money all the time. It is normal with people who grew up with the lira.

“The problem is that many then compare the purchase to what they would have bought 10 or 20 years ago and obviously a lot has changed in terms of purchasing power,” credit consultant Michael Vella said.

He was commenting on recent Eurobarometer figures that revealed that Maltese were the most likely among the 17 eurozone member states to mentally refer to their former currency when making large purchases.

This was likely down to Malta’s relatively recent introduction of the euro.

Slovakians for instance, were the second most likely to mentally swap back to the koruna. They joined the eurozone a year after Malta, on January 1, 2009.

The Irish, on the other hand, were most used to thinking in euros having joined in 15 years ago.

The problem is many then compare the purchase to what they would have bought 10 or 20 years ago and obviously a lot has changed

The Maltese currency swap was most common when purchasing property.

Malta Federation of Estate Agents president Ian Casolani said it was frequently used among property developers.

“Contractors who purchase land nearly always discuss the price in liri.

“When they talk in terms of airspace on a piece of land for instance they think of what they will get in liri for each property,” he said, adding that younger property buyers were much less likely to “think in liri”.

Mr Casolani said that despite the relatively high amount of currency swappers, he had noticed a decrease in the tendency over recent years.

In fact, the study found that Malta had also registered the largest decrease in those who count their liri. The percentage fell some five per cent since 2011.

Big buys, however, were not the only time the Maltese dipped in to their mental bureau de change.

More than a quarter still mentally convert prices on daily shopping baskets and other small purchases.

The survey also found that, six years after its adoption, 62 per cent of Maltese think the euro was beneficial to the country.

This is significantly higher than the amount that voted for Malta to join the EU back in 2003. Back then, 53.6 per cent had voted in favour of accession, the lowest among the nine member states that held a vote over whether to join.

A majority of respondents in all eurozone countries considered the euro to be a good thing for the union.

Despite this, Maltese cash holders were surprisingly ambivalent about handling the joint currency.

While some 83 per cent view euro notes as “very easy” to use, 98 per cent said they would rather see one cent coins abolished.

Overall, however, Maltese still definitely have a soft spot for the euro. The study found that they were the most likely to say it made them feel more European.