Housing demand has cooled, possibly because of the jump in prices, or because the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) rally has given investors an alternative investment. Housing sales fell 16% in September, compared with August, the third consecutive month of falling sales, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today.
In addition, housing inventory has fallen to a multiyear low. There were 13,155 homes for sale in January 2005, and September was the first month since then that the inventory fell below 8,000 homes, to 7,651, except for January. Housing inventory has fallen every month this year.
970 privately-built homes were sold in September, down from 1,160 in August and 1,320 in July. An additional 280 publicly-built homes were sold in September, for a total of 1,250 homes sold.
August home sales were 12% less than in July, and July's sales were 14% less than in June.
The Central Bureau of Statistics also reported that the average apartment price rose 13.3% in the 12 months through August 2009, and by 27% since mid-2007.
Since June, when 2,050 apartments were sold, there was a continuous decline in apartment sales every month of the third quarter.
At the end of September, half of privately-built homes for sale were sold within 11 months of the start of construction. 36% of new homes for sale are in the Central District and 32% are in the Tel Aviv District.
At the current rate of sales, the current housing inventory is enough for six months nationwide. The current housing inventory is enough for 24 months in the Jerusalem District and for 11 months in the Central District.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 29, 2009
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