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Average One-Bedroom Rent Now Officially Higher Than Malta’s Minimum Wage

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In 2017, for the first time ever, the rent of a single bedroom flat at a national average level would surge above the current minimum wage, currently set at €735.63. Properties that cost less than the minimum wage to rent still exist, but tend to be clustered in the North or South areas of the island, with the central part being the most expensive.

The rising rent prices have been felt by anyone who has to pay them monthly. And while some estimates to just how much they’ve gone up have been indirectly calculated, data obtained by Lovin Malta from the NSO charts just how explosive that rise has been in the past 7 years.

Rent Vs Min Wage

On average, across the whole island, rent has risen by this much over the past 7 years.

New Slope Graph

To determine the average rent prices, the NSO samples a selection of real estate agents, and asks them what they’d estimate the average rent to be according to a property’s size and location. It’s worth noting that the 2017 numbers are still provisional and subject to verification.

One limitation of this approach is the fact that most real estate agencies cater to a foreign clientele, which means that prices paid by locals for rent are much less in reality.  

As you’d expect, besides variations of rent based on the size of a property, location is also a crucial factor. The NSO uses three property clusters, closely resembling the North/Central/South regional divisions. Here’s what flat prices look like in each of those divisions.

Sliema, St Julians, Gzira and Valletta

(This cluster was also expanded to further include Msida, Ta’ Xbiex, San Gwann, Swieqi, Tal-Ibragg, Swatar in 2017)

New Zone Arent

The central part of Malta is, by far, the most expensive to live in, and has in recently seen the price of even a one bedroom flat creep up to over the €800 mark. The rising rental prices are, in part, often attributed to the steady inflow of EU nationals working in service industries such as gaming and finance with lucrative salaries.

Mellieha, St Paul’s Bay, Qawra and Bugibba

New Zone Brent

The North of the island was a relatively affordable area where people could rent a large three bedroom apartment for the price of a much smaller one bedroom in the central part of the island. That too however changed, with rent prices rising even more dramatically here – they have in fact come close to doubling over the last 5 years alone. 

 Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua, Marsaxlokk, Birzebbugia and Marsaskala

New Zone Crent

This cluster was historically the most affordable, and although larger 2 and 3 bedroom flats still are a few hundred euros cheaper than the north, the price of 1 bedroom flats is nearly identical, coming in at €536, or just €14 less than the north’s €550.

In the backdrop of this rent hike Malta is experiencing a boom in real estate development – and while some have suggested that the growth of the market is driven mostly by speculation, BOV CEO Mario Mallia said that he sees no risk of a property bubble one month ago.

Special thanks to the National Statistics Office for their help with rent prices. 

READ NEXT: Malta’s Rent Crisis: Living Nightmares From A Booming Island

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