The developers’ association on Friday inaugurated a new section for real estate agents “with the hope of taking the sector forward”.

Malta Developers’ Association president Sandro Chetcuti told reporters that the new division included some 70 real estate offices from across the island.

“The MDA opened its doors and most of the prominent agencies joined. The idea is that when we make proposals, or are lobbying for certain issues, it is more coherent, sustainable, and keeps the end user – property buyers - in mind,” Mr Chetcuti said.

The MDA’s new sector has all but replaced the federation of real estate agents, which now only has a few remaining members.

The association already had a section on real estate consultants, representing several hundred. This latest section will represent the owners of agencies and will have a council to draft positions.

Also present at the press conference was Planning Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius who said government regularly met with the MDA to discuss matters related to the industry. One such pressing matter, he said, was regulation of the real estate market and profession.

A white paper on the sector had been drafted back in 2016 but had been left on the backburner due to changing political portfolios and a general election.

However, he said he now hoped to have consensus on the consultation document by the first quarter of this year, before taking the matter to Parliament.

Douglas Salt, who heads the new MDA section, told the Times of Malta that information gathering would be a key role of the section.

“The industry is growing rapidly, and understanding this growth, as well as planning how best to manage it requires information. Agencies today just can’t afford to make mistakes,” he said.