Clyde Caruana says PN housing plan would help only 750 first-time buyers in 10 years

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana accused the Opposition of presenting “non-credible” housing proposals after questioning the Nationalist Party’s calculations on a scheme aimed at helping first-time buyers with mortgage interest payments, saying that the scheme would only cover 750 applicants.

Addressing a Labour Party press conference, Caruana said the Maltese and Gozitan public expected political parties to present realistic and financially sound proposals ahead of the next electoral cycle.

He argued that recent proposals unveiled by the Nationalist Party were raising “serious doubts” about the Opposition’s responsibility and competence, particularly in relation to housing measures targeting young people.

Caruana focused on a proposal announced by Opposition leader Alex Borg under which the state would subsidise half of the mortgage interest paid by first-time buyers over a period of 10 years.

The Opposition had allocated €2.8 million annually for the measure, amounting to €28 million over a decade. Caruana then analysed what he described as a typical case of a young couple purchasing a €300,000 apartment with a €270,000 home loan over 40 years at a 3% interest rate.

Under that scenario, he said, the couple would pay around €75,000 in interest during the first 10 years of the loan, meaning the proposed subsidy would amount to approximately €37,500.

“If you divide the €28 million budget by €37,500, only around 750 people could benefit over 10 years,” Caruana said.

He added that Malta currently sees around 2,300 first-time buyers annually, meaning the scheme would only cover about one-third of applicants in a single year before the allocated budget would effectively be exhausted.

Caruana said these calculations showed “major mistakes” in the Opposition’s financial projections and rendered the proposal “absolutely not credible”.

Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul also criticised the Nationalist Party, accusing it of making promises “without competence”.

Ellul contrasted the Opposition’s proposals with what he described as the Labour Party’s track record in housing policy, saying the government had introduced schemes that helped more Maltese and Gozitan families become homeowners.

He noted that recent figures showed 85% of Maltese and Gozitan families own their home, which he attributed to economic growth and government housing schemes introduced under Labour administrations.

Ellul said the government had allocated around €65 million this year for housing-related schemes and pledged that the Labour Party would continue introducing measures aimed at keeping home ownership levels above 80%.

RSS Feed Source: Independent Malta Clyde Caruana says PN housing plan would help only 750 first-time buyers in 10 years