Current data from South European countries, especially Malta, indicates the existence of some contradictory forces in the housing market that defy the law of supply and demand and require explanation. In a ‘normal’ housing market, it can be expected that a high dwelling vacancy rate would help keep down the price of housing. In Malta, however, both the vacancy rate and housing prices have been rising in tandem for decades, unabated, even under the recent international market crunch. The government housing policy, which has always stimulated homeownership, is still encouraging new house building. Despite the high number (over 50,000) of vacant dwellings, the authorities issue more than 6,000 building permits annually to the private sector. In this paper we outline and explain the major factors contributing to this unlikely combination. Doing so, we use a welfare-state perspective. We identify and explain the underlying factors that are collectively responsible for such a paradox: the state; the family; the powerful Catholic Church; the underdeveloped Maltese financial market; and the paternalistic culture prevalent in Malta.
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