Malta · MLT · snapshot 2026-08-16
Malta
Measured
Currency movement
Not measured
This market's currency is the euro, so there is no euro reference rate for it and no entry window to state.
Foreign-buyer rules
3 of 3 published rules apply
These are the restrictions a foreign buyer meets before price is even discussed — approval regimes, surcharges, ownership limits.
What it does not show. It is not a completeness claim. A rule we have not read is not a rule that does not exist, and this row counts what is cited, not what is in force.
Cost of money
2.25%
The price of money to banks across the euro area, set by the European Central Bank rather than by anything in this country. It sets the floor everything else is priced from, and it is identical in every member state.
What it does not show. It is not a mortgage quote, and it is not a fact that distinguishes this market from any other euro-area member — the rate is the same in all of them, so it can never be the reason to prefer one over another. What differs between them is what a bank adds on top, which this does not measure. What a non-resident is offered is a different number again, usually much higher.
Supply against absorption
Not measured
No statistics agency for this market has been read and cleared for republication.
Residential price cycle
Not measured
The OECD house-price dataset does not carry Malta.
Valuation against its own history
Not measured
The OECD house-price dataset does not carry Malta.
On the market now
Not measured
No listings platform has been read for this market. The one platform this site can read covers Russian cities only, and inventing a count for anywhere else would be worse than an empty row.
No dossier has been written for this market yet. What follows is the measured layers and the rules, each with its source — not an argument about whether to be here. A market reaches this page as soon as two layers can be cited, because an unwritten thesis is a reason to publish less, not a reason to publish nothing.
The series behind those figures, and the workings
Cost of money
2.25%
Central bank policy rate, 2026-07. Source: Bank for International Settlements.
This is the price of money to banks, not the price of money to a non-resident buying a building. The gap between those two is where a market’s financing story actually lives, and it is not in this number. A mortgage quote for a foreign buyer depends on the lender, the asset and the borrower, and no public dataset carries it.
BIS terms permit this figure on a free page and state that nothing in their statistics constitutes investment advice. They also allow inclusion in a commercial product only where it adds no charge, so this series is published here and is not priced into any paid work.
Background
Annual national statistics from the World Bank, under a licence that permits reuse with attribution. They describe the country; they do not time an entry, and they are not counted as measurements of this market — otherwise every territory on earth would claim to be measured on the strength of one dataset.
| Indicator | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|
| GDP per capita | 47,907 US$ | 2025 |
| Consumer price inflation | 2.4 % | 2025 |
| Population | 579,704 | 2025 |
| Urban population | 95.7 % of total | 2025 |
| Official exchange rate | 0.8850 per US$ | 2025 |
What the rules do to a foreign buyer
Each entry cites the instrument and the authority page it was read from, with the date it was retrieved. Facts of law change; the retrieval date is how you know how old this reading is.
| Topic | In force | When it bites | Applies to | What applies | Instrument | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who counts as a non-resident, and what they may not do | In forcefrom 1974-05-30 | On the way in | All property | A non-resident person may not acquire immovable property in Malta by or under any title, in any manner whatsoever, whether by act inter vivos or causa mortis, and including prescription, occupancy or accession; any deed, will or other act purporting to transfer property to one is null and void for all purposes of law and in regard to all persons. The test is residence rather than nationality, and it catches EU citizens: "non-resident person" covers any individual who is not a citizen of Malta or of another Member State (excluding third-country nationals holding long-term resident status), and also a citizen of Malta or of another Member State who has not been resident in Malta for a minimum continuous period of five years at any time preceding the date of acquisition. | Immovable Property (Acquisition by Non-Residents) Act, Chapter 246 of the Laws of Malta, art. 4(1) with the definition in art. 2. Read from the consolidated text published by legislation.mt. | 2026-08-16 |
| The permit, and the condition most likely to catch a buyer | In forceNot stated by the source | On the way in | Residential only | The Minister may grant a permit in writing to a non-resident person to acquire an immovable property specifically indicated in the permit, where in the Minister's opinion it is in the public interest or otherwise appropriate. Where an application is made in line with the prescribed policies, the Minister shall not withhold the permit if satisfied that the property is required for an industrial or touristic project approved by the Government, or — in the case of an individual who is not a resident of Malta — that the property is a building worth not less than EUR 18,500 (a figure adjusted annually against an immovable property price index published in the Gazette by the National Statistics Office), that it is intended to be used as a residence for the buyer and their family, and that the buyer does not own or hold under any title any other immovable property in Malta. | Chapter 246 of the Laws of Malta, art. 6(1). | 2026-08-16 |
| Where the prohibition does not reach | In forceNot stated by the source | On the way in | Residential only | Article 4 does not apply to an acquisition of immovable property in a special designated area by any person, wherever resident — those zones are listed in the First Schedule and the Minister may add to them by order in the Gazette. Separately, a citizen of Malta or of another Member State who is not resident in Malta may acquire without a permit, except for secondary residence purposes; and "immovable property for secondary residence purposes" expressly excludes property that is to serve as the buyer's primary residence, or whose acquisition is required for carrying out that person's business activities or supply of services. | Chapter 246 of the Laws of Malta, arts. 3(1)(b), 3(2) and 5(1)(b). | 2026-08-16 |
What is missing, and why
currency — Source does not cover this market
The dataset simply does not include this territory. Absent, not zero.
This market's currency is the euro, so there is no euro reference rate for it and no entry window to state.
valuation — Source does not cover this market
The dataset simply does not include this territory. Absent, not zero.
The OECD house-price dataset does not carry Malta.
supply — Source does not cover this market
The dataset simply does not include this territory. Absent, not zero.
No statistics agency for this market has been read and cleared for republication.
What supports this, what would make it wrong, and how it could go
Record
| Why this market is on the list | Added when its foreign-buyer rules were read from the consolidated Act. Malta is a euro-area member, so the cost-of-money layer is the ECB's shared rate and the currency layer does not exist; the OECD house-price dataset does not carry it. What makes this market measured is the friction layer, read from the statute itself. |
|---|---|
| Dossier | None written. Layers and rules only, which is why this market reads as “Measured” rather than reviewed. |
| Next review | 2026-11-15 |
| Evidence snapshot | 2026-08-16 |