A younger and future-oriented real estate market in Malta

Sep 23 2021

PwC Malta has carried out the second edition of its Real Estate Survey, shedding light on the motions of Malta’s real estate sector as it continues to navigate a world impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. David Valenzia, PwC Malta’s Territory Senior Partner, introduced the findings and stated that whilst clear changes in transaction in the industry can be suggested, the sector seems to be fueling economic activity and propelling market confidence higher up. 461 respondents participated in the survey, targeted at the total population living on the Maltese islands. With both locals and expatriates participating, it showed that 45% of respondents indicate plans to buy property.

This represents a dip from the 58% mark last January, with the survey noting an increase in the amount of people who have no plans to rent or buy at 44%, compared to January’s 26%. Around half of respondents at 52% stated they would prefer buying an apartment or penthouse, with a sharp rise of prospective buyers looking for townhouses. This tripled in June from January (9% to 28%). This shows a possible increase in appreciation of traditional aesthetics. A level of maturity could also be noted on the market as the amount of respondents who are purchasing property as a form of investment dropped by over a half (23% in January to 10% in June). Nearly half of the respondents (41% compared to 30%) wish to upgrade or downsize their current residence.

Social trends can also be seen through the survey, considering the significant percentage of first time buyers who are seeking to buy property to move out of home. 36% of respondents reflect this category. A younger future minded market was also noticeable. Most of the respondents (62%) value sustainability and stated that it is an important variable in their decision to buy specific property. nearly half of respondents say they would even spend money on a property that includes sustainability considerations.

The amount of people looking for rental property has remained relatively unchanged. The extent of whom wish to rent in Gozo however has nearly doubled from 10% in January to 18% in June. Coastal localities seem to be the most popular for rental of properties in both Malta and Gozo. Mosta appears to be a popular choice, alongside Ghajnsielem, Gharb, Sliema and St Paul’s Bay.

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Photo Soucre: PwC Communications

Malta infection rate lowest since June with 2300 daily tests

Sep 23 2021

The health authorities have reported that around 2,300 COVID-19 tests are being carried out daily, with the positivity rate continuing to drop and reaching the lowest rate since June. Maltese health authorities have abandoned providing daily updates on how many tests were carried out, focusing instead on the more important hospitalizations in their daily updates. Public health chief Charmaine Gauci directed people towards ECDC data as a response as to why authorities made the move away from such information. With the information publicly available, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control showed that health authorities carried out a total of 16,191 tests last week.

Spread over a seven-day period, the average number of daily tests ranks at 2,313. Despite this being lower than previous months, Malta’s positivity rate has also dropped to around 1.24. The lowest rate since June, this points to the drop in new cases being caused by fewer infections in the community. With only 12 new infections reported on Thursday, the number of patients in hospital with COVID-19 dropped to 15. Four of these patients require intensive care, and Malta finds itself with an infection rate of 93.67 per 100,000 people. This is one of the lowest infection rates in Europe.

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Virginity out, ‘sexual-debut’ in

Sep 23 2021

The term ‘virginity’ may be outdated. Feminists have constantly pointed out how the term has traditionally framed female sexuality as a treasure which is either ‘given’ by women or simply ‘taken’ away. Other sexual educators noted how traditional narratives around virginity do not fully capture the multiplicity of people’s intimate lives. Members of the LGBTIQ community have also pointed out how heteronormative the term truly is, excluding all sexual experiences which are not heteronormative. So how should we frame the discussion around virginity?

Few have truly offered an alternative to phrases like ‘losing your virginity’. Enter Nicolle Hodges, a ‘sexual freedom philosopher’ from Toronto. She offered up a new substitute to cover for the transition towards more inclusive language surrounding virginity. She has proposed ‘sexual debut’. She didn’t expect much of the term when she first proposed it but, to her surprise, fans started to ask about an elaboration of this idea.

When it comes to the term ‘virginity’, she says its an old, rickety word which encapsulates what’s supposed to be an expansive term. Instead, it poses a limiting idea and phrase. By contrast, sexual debut seeks to remedy this perspective. As a phrase, it has existed for decades, as it has been used clinically to refer to ‘loss of virginity.’ Firstly, it introduces a sense of autonomy to a person’s sex life – virginity is no longer ‘lost’. Instead, people are free to enter the world of dating and sexual relationships on their own.

A skeptical view on ‘sexual debut’ came through sex educator Julia Feldman-DeCoudreaux, who, despite agreeing with the term virginity being too limiting, did not fully endorse ‘sexual debut’ as a term. She argues that using a term like sexual debut, just as virginity, one is still defining a person’s sexuality in the context of being intimate with another person. It seems to suggest that partnered sex is required for a person to debut sexually.

Feldman argues that it’s not just about one moment, despite culture tending to romanticize events. Despite this not changing any time soon, she agrees with Hodges in saying that we have an obligation to rethink and discuss such matters. It is certainly not a single moment where you flip a switch and that’s it. People continue to grow and therefore, so does their sexuality. As we find more accurate terms, it does seem like virginity as a concept might be lost to the history books.

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Eating locusts and insects might soon not be a choice

Sep 23 2021

An Israeli firm is hoping to win over the more squeamish by adding different flavorings to insects in order to combat environmental degradation. For many, this is just a massive no-no, but Dror Tamir describes grasshoppers having the taste of pecans, mushrooms, coffee and chocolate, with little brown gummies made out of the edible-jumping insect. Locusts have been a dietary mainstay by communities all across Africa, Asia, Central America and the Middle East, but for many Europeans and North Americans, it is still a repulsive concept. Apart from the gummies, Tamir is introducing energy bars, burgers and even falafel balls out of the insect.

If you still think this would be a special dietary decision only the weirder among us will try, some experts are saying that we might have no choice but to eat insects as environmental degradation, global foot shortages and global population growth continue to worsen. Traditional farming might not be able to keep up the pace, but switching to insects as protein is better for the environment than rearing cows or sheep. Insects such as ground crickets and mealworms are cheap, easy to farm, low fat and have low environmental impact. Are you ready for the insect cuisine revolution?