Press
Property Expo provides a boost to the market
The HSBC Malta Property Expo held over the last weekend of February at The MFCC in Ta’ Qali provided a much needed boost to the Maltese real estate market. In ongoing surveys carried out by the organisers Duplex Real Estate Branding, most of the seventy five exhibitors reported brisk trade, encouraging leads and overall very positive feedback on the organisation of the event. Over the three days between Friday 27th February and Sunday 1st Mach, more than 5000 people attended, making this one of the most successful specialised fairs.
Several people went looking for property to purchase or rent and visited the Expo to obtain more information and seek deals. “We weren’t expecting so many people to close sales here and now, but some buyers actually came prepared with their cheque books ready to pay deposits.” said one of the organisers. Those exhibitors that did not close sales at the Expo went away with many viable leads that would be closed possibly in the near future. Others came across new opportunities as the event also served as an excellent networking venue for the exhibitors themselves, who although working in the same sector have little or no opportunity of meeting in such a setting. This is the first Malta property Expo and it will definitely not be the last.
Throughout the three days there were ten interesting seminars and presentations on subjects ranging from property management, marketing and letting, to investment opportunities in some attractive overseas markets. Dilip Khatwani from Reliance FM of Dubai delivered an interesting insight into Facility Management, while Paul Owen from the Association of International Property Professionals gave a presentation about Britons buying overseas and how Malta could tap into this market. The Chamber of Architects managed a presentation by leading Italian architects Franco Purini and Laura Thermes, while the state of the property market was debated by four Maltese experts – Frank Salt, Trafford Busuttil, Sandro Chetcuti and Angelo Xuereb. These discussed the situation in Malta juxtaposed with perspectives from the Australian and British markets provided by Nick Cartridge and Paul Owen respectively. The Expo also hosted a property auction where a number of attractive offers went under the hammer.
While touring the Expo on Saturday morning, the Prime Minister could see up close a number of large projects currently in various stages of development around the Maltese islands and stop and discuss various issues which the developers come across. Dr. Joseph Muscat, leader of the opposition visited with a small delegation from the Labour Party and was very interested to learn more about this important industry and meet the people that work in it.
The HSBC Malta Property Expo was a huge challenge to organise and bring together everyone under one roof. Now that it’s over, everyone agrees that it has been a huge success and a terrific boost to the market. Now we can look forward to other initiatives to continue building on this momentum.
