Types of Property in Malta

Malta’s property market is generally described using seven broad property types - apartments, maisonettes, penthouses, terraced houses/townhouses, villas and bungalows, farmhouses, and houses of character - and the type matters as much as the locality when it comes to price, maintenance responsibility, and how easily a property will resell or rent.

The stock is heavily apartment-weighted

Per NSO’s Census of Population and Housing 2021, flats and penthouses made up 52.7% of Malta’s 215,691 main residential dwellings, followed by terraced houses at 22.7% and maisonettes at 19.8%. This is a marked shift from Census 2011, when terraced houses were still the largest single category at 34.4% - the past decade’s construction boom has been overwhelmingly apartment-led. Villas, bungalows, farmhouses and houses of character together make up a small remaining share, but a disproportionately visible one given their premium pricing and concentration in specific localities.

NSO’s own Residential Property Price Index tracks price movement using three underlying categories - apartments, maisonettes, and houses (a broader group covering terraced houses, villas, bungalows, farmhouses and houses of character together) - rather than the finer-grained labels estate agents use commercially. In recent NSO releases, the apartment and maisonette sub-indices have generally shown stronger annual growth than the broader house category, though the balance shifts from quarter to quarter. See Malta Property Prices for the latest overall RPPI reading.

The seven types

• Apartments - the dominant property type, reached via a shared entrance/stairwell/lift, governed by Malta’s Condominium Act for shared parts. The most liquid category to buy, sell or rent.
• Maisonettes - similar size to an apartment but with its own street-level entrance and often a small yard, without a shared building lobby.
• Penthouses - the top-floor unit of a block, usually with a private terrace and sometimes a roof pool, commanding a premium over standard apartments.
• Terraced houses & townhouses - multi-level houses sharing party walls with their neighbours, concentrated in traditional village cores.
• Villas & bungalows - detached houses, usually with a garden and often a pool, concentrated in lower-density residential zones.
• Farmhouses - converted rural properties, stone-built and originally agricultural, concentrated in Malta’s western villages and across Gozo.
• Houses of character - older traditional townhouses retaining original features such as exposed beams and internal courtyards, concentrated in historic village and town cores.

How to choose

Apartments and maisonettes offer the largest buyer and tenant pool, which matters most if liquidity - being able to resell or re-let quickly - is a priority. Houses (terraced, villa, farmhouse or character) offer more space and, at the upper end, more distinctiveness, but carry more maintenance responsibility, and in the case of farmhouses and houses of character, tighter planning restrictions on what can be altered. See Buying Property in Malta for the purchase process itself, and Malta Property Investment Overview for how property type factors into a rental yield or capital appreciation strategy.