The average home price in the first quarter of 2010 was 16.6% higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2009, and 4.1% higher than in the preceding quarter, the Chief Appraiser at the Ministry of Justice reported today, burying promises made last year by Minister of Housing and Construction Ariel Atias that home price rises would be halted in early 2010.
The Chief Appraiser's report covers four-room apartments in 14 cities nationwide.
The average price of a four-room apartment in Tel Aviv rose 30% to NIS 2.26 million in the first quarter from NIS 1.78 million in the corresponding quarter, the highest increase in the cities surveyed. The second largest increase was in Beersheva, where the average price of a four-room apartment rose 23% to NIS 606,000 in the first quarter from NIS 492,000 in the corresponding quarter.
The average price of a four-room apartment in Jerusalem rose 16% to NIS 1.54 million from NIS 1.32 million; the average price rose 18% in Herzliya to NIS 1.65 million from NIS 1.4 million; the average price rose 21% in Haifa to NIS 909,000 from NIS 763,000; and in Modi'in, the average price rose 13% to NIS 1.21 million from NIS 1.07 million.
In October 2009, Atias promised, "In 2010, the rise in housing prices will end, and they will begin to fall sharply toward the end of the year.
The Chief Appraiser said today, "Many factors affect the rise in home prices. However, it seems that the low inventory of unsold new apartments, which has fallen to less than 13,000 apartments, is the most influential factor that is continuing to drive prices upwards."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 4, 2010
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