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In 2017, housing sales in Israel fell sharply

In 2017, housing sales in Israel fell sharply

Prices for real estate in Israel will go down.

In mid-January, the Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel summed up the results of 2017 and released data on the state of the real estate market and the number of transactions for the sale of housing in the country.

It is estimated that in 2017, 99,171 apartments were sold, which is 10.5% less than in the previous year. Bring to mind in 2016, there were 110,806 residential properties sold.

Between September and November 2017, 5,630 units of new housing were sold in Israel, which is 11.4% lower than in the previous quarter of the year. In December 2017, the sale of housing amounted to 8,800 apartments, but the Ministry of Finance of Israel emphasizes that out of this amount, 1,000 apartments were purchased under preferential terms of the program "Price for a New Home". Therefore, the number of apartments sold at the market price amounted to 7,750 objects, which is 20% less than for the same period in 2016.

In addition, analysts have also noted a decline in purchases of real estate in Israel for investment by more than a quarter - by 26%. For the full year of 2017, investors purchased 17,400 housing units, a record low since 2003. This reduced income from the tax on the purchase of real estate in the Israeli budget by 33% and in 2017, in digital terms, income was only 1.5 billion shekels. There is also a 16% decrease in the number of purchases of housing by young couples. Experts note that market activity is slowing even in regions where a significant increase in sales was recorded earlier.

According to the director of the Ministry of Finance of Israel Shai Babad in an interview with Ynet, for 12 months, from November 2016 to November 2017, the growth in prices increased by 2.4%. At the same time, he pointed that the rate of rising in price of housing in 2017 significantly decreased, because before the prices grew by 9% per year. He predicts the beginning of the process of lowering prices in the real estate market in 2018.

Experts International Investment noted that the trend of lower prices began in late 2017. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel, in October-November 2017, at the national level, there was a price decrease of 0.3%.

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At the same time, most of the price fell in the Jerusalem and Northern regions - the cost of housing fell by 1.3%, in the Southern region the drop was 1.5%, in the Tel Aviv and Central area, prices fell by 0.8%, in Haifa area - by 0.6%. The downward trend in prices will continue in 2018, said the Minister of Finance of the National Housing Authority Avigdor Yitzhaki. As reasons for the decline, he indicates an excess of supply and government programs.

International Investment