The average price of a home in Israel fell 0.2% in June, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. However, commenting on the state of the real estate market, Excellence Investments Ltd. (TASE: EXCE) Chief Economist Yaniv Hevron said that the price fall is temporary.
He said, "The real estate market is frozen and prices are falling. This is only the first swallow of the summer and ii is our belief that this story will be temporary even though this month we saw a slight 0.2% fall in home prices. The rental market rose according to seasonal factors but this might halt in the coming months if home prices continue to fall."
He continued, "We again point out that it is our belief that this trend, should it develop, will be temporary due to the stagnation in the real estate market, but with interest rates looking towards zero this will lead to predictable results releasing the pin and an additional jump in prices."
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1% in July and Hevron point out that without the influence of housing costs the CPI has fallen 0.5% over the past 12 months.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 17, 2014
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