10,000 housing purchase deals were conducted in November 2014, the most in a month since the beginning of the year, according to a residential real estate survey published today by the Ministry of Finance.
The number of deals in November was 40% more than in the preceding month and 10% more than in November 2013. Initial Ministry of Finance figures on the number of deals in December 2014 indicate a further rise in the number of transactions.
The number of residential real estate transactions for all of 2014 is estimated at 100,000, 12% less than in all of 2013. Among other things, these figures reflect the effect of government plans like the 0% VAT plan on the real estate sector in 2014, as well as the result of the fighting in Operation Protective Edge during the summer.
According to the Ministry of Finance's data, the effect of the political situation on demand in the sector was already visible in November 2014. The Ministry of Finance said that the pace of purchases, especially of new housing, accelerated in the second half of November, probably as a result of the political situation: "It can be assumed that this acceleration is attributable to a large extent to the developing coalition crisis that eventually resulted in the decision in early December to advance the elections."
According to the figures, the purchases in November were led by people looking for better housing, especially in the coastal plain, where purchases in this segment shot up 70%. At the same time, the number of purchases by those buying their first home (young couples) also rose strongly in November, with most of the increase in deals occurring in Jerusalem.
After the Ministry of Finance survey for October 2014 indicated a rise in the activity by investors, the proportion of total housing purchases by investors declined slightly from 27% in October to 25.5% in November.
In quantitative terms, however, the number of deals by investors in November was up 33%. In a geographic breakdown of purchases by investors, the Haifa region stood out with 55% growth in the number of purchases. The proportion of deal involving investors in the Haifa region was 28%, the highest since April 2013.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2015
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