With new destinations such as Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia offering two and three bedroom apartments for sale for £50,000, there was concern last year among some Malta estate agents that 2005 could see a drop in the number of UK and Irish buyers choosing to buy a holiday home on the island.

With good all year round temperatures enticing many buyers for the winter months as well as the summer, driving on the left and a warm welcome from the local population who nearly all speak English, Malta has been popular for some years among overseas property buyers.

"A home from home in the Med is often the comment we hear from overseas property buyers" comments Michael Johnson of Malta property specialists Tribune Properties.

"With countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia opening up their property markets to overseas buyers there is a chance that the Maltese property market could see a decline in sales this year.

But it hasn’t happened in the first quarter of 2005 at least. Malta has an appeal that never really attracted the bargain hunters in the past who tended to look more at rural France and Spain where the low cost airlines fly to, and it is these buyers who are now considering the new markets rather than the buyers we see in Malta."

Risk Factor

Malta joined the EU last year, and this has helped maintain Malta’s popularity among overseas property buyers.

"Malta has economic, legal and political systems that are established, and might be viewed as less of a risk than countries where title deeds might be more questionable", adds Johnson, "And we advise buyers wherever they ultimately decide upon to appoint an independent lawyer who can converse in the buyer’s own language to oversee any property transaction to help avoid any potentially expensive misunderstandings."