Market Intelligence · Locality comparison
Gżira vs Sliema
A few minutes’ walk apart along the same marina, Gżira and Sliema are the same side of the harbour at two very different scales.
The short answer
Gżira or Sliema?
Sliema is the clear leader on the published figures: it records clearly more completed sales, far more promise of sale agreements and far more new homes approved, and a much larger share of Malta’s active rent contracts. Gżira suits a buyer who wants that side of the harbour, and the university a short walk inland, without paying for a Sliema address.
Gżira is still one of the busier rental markets in Malta, and its tenants are often people who would like to live in Sliema. The open variable is Manoel Island, whose redevelopment will shape Gżira’s seafront more than any other town’s. Sliema’s large approvals pipeline, meanwhile, means a steady flow of new stock for its buyers to choose from and compete with.
Head to head
Gżira: 11th of 68 · Sliema: 1st of 68
Gżira: 7th of 68 · Sliema: 2nd of 68
Sources: National Statistics Office (Malta), residential property transactions and residential building permits; Housing Authority (Malta), Malta Rent Calculator.
Month by month
Sales in Gżira and Sliema
Final deeds are completed sales. Promise of sale agreements are the deals signed on the way to a deed, so they show where the market is heading a few months early.
Source: National Statistics Office (Malta), residential property transactions.
Who each suits
Choosing between Gżira and Sliema
Gżira
Gżira suits a buyer looking for a smaller apartment to let to students or young professionals close to both the university and the Sliema seafront. Building condition varies a great deal between blocks, so the work is in choosing the right one, and a view on Manoel Island is part of the purchase.
Read the Gżira investment guideSliema
Sliema suits a buyer who wants the deepest market on this stretch of coast: a broad tenant pool, a large pool of resale buyers and the promenade on the doorstep. It is the safer exit of the two, with more choice of new and existing stock, and more competition for it.
Read the Sliema investment guideGood to know
Gżira vs Sliema, answered
Which has more property sales, Gżira or Sliema?
From July 2025 to June 2026, the National Statistics Office recorded 299 final deeds of sale in Gżira and 462 in Sliema. By completed sales, Sliema is the busier market of the two.
Which has more sales in the pipeline, Gżira or Sliema?
A promise of sale agreement is the deal signed ahead of the final deed. From July 2025 to June 2026, 255 were recorded in Gżira and 491 in Sliema. Sliema has more sales on their way to completion.
Where are more new homes being approved, Gżira or Sliema?
In the first quarter of 2026, 69 new dwellings were approved in Gżira, 11th of the 68 localities the National Statistics Office reported, and 322 in Sliema, 1st. Sliema has the larger pipeline of new supply: competition for a resale seller, and choice for an off-plan buyer.
Which has the bigger rental market, Gżira or Sliema?
Gżira holds 4.17% of Malta’s active residential rent contracts, 7th of the 68 localities on the register, and Sliema holds 6.96%, 2nd. On the Housing Authority’s register, Sliema has the deeper tenant pool.
How does Gżira compare with Sliema on price?
These pages quote no prices, because we hold no published price figure for a single town. What the data does show is that Gżira sits a short walk from Sliema’s seafront with a smaller market of its own. Tell us your budget and we can compare specific homes in either town.
Does Manoel Island matter more to Gżira or to Sliema?
To Gżira. The island sits directly off Gżira’s waterfront, so whatever is eventually built there will change its seafront and its streets more than Sliema’s. A buyer in Gżira is taking a view on that project as well as on the property.
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