MDA hits back over affordable housing tender stance, says better model could cut prices

The Malta Development Association has pushed back against what it calls misleading statements from Il Kollettiv over its position on affordable housing tenders. The body insists its objection was never about consumers buying property below market prices.

The association says it supports genuine measures that improve affordability and help first time buyers enter the market. Its real concern, it argues, is that the tenders must be structured fairly and in the public interest.

The MDA claims its calculations, which it says have not been credibly challenged, show a better model could deliver lower prices to consumers while ensuring public land is used properly and responsibly. That point matters most where public land is being made available on terms that are, for all practical purposes, equivalent to being free.

The statement lands against a backdrop of rising property prices, which the MDA acknowledges remains a serious concern. Many of its members are focused on providing homes for first time buyers, but the market continues to face strong cost pressures, particularly from land prices, excessive bureaucracy, and rising construction and finishing costs.

Developers are often forced to acquire land at very high, and sometimes exaggerated, prices, which inevitably pushes final property prices upward, the association said.

The MDA says it remains ready to support the Government in developing fair, lawful and effective models that genuinely improve housing affordability in Malta. It also stresses that its position is not isolated, having found support from other NGOs as well as political parties.

The association says it has consistently upheld this principle on the use of public land, irrespective of the identity of the developers involved. For the local market, the crux is whether the tender framework can be redrawn to protect buyers without handing public land over on effectively free terms.