11.6% of respondents in the Consumer Confidence Index, compiled by Globes Research and pwc Israel, for January 2011 say that they are interested in buying an apartment in next six months, up from 7.8% of respondents in December 2010, and rise of over 50%. This is the largest monthly increase since 2009, and indicates the highest interest in buying a home since early 2010 (10.6%).
The figure is quite high, and the second highest figure after the 11.9% record set in September 2010. Even if volatility is factored out, and we look at the three-month moving average, the number of respondents interested in buying a home rose from December to 9.5% in January. The figure underscores the trend, although it is not near the peak.
For the sake of comparison, trend figures showed that 10.6% of respondents in the Consumer Confidence Index for January 2010 expressed an interest in buying a home in the next six months.
In January 2011, 4.4% of respondents said that they planned to buy a new home (almost a third of respondents interested in buying a home), a sharp increase compared with December. The proportion of respondents wanting to buy a new apartment has almost doubled within a year.
However, the sharpest increase was in the proportion of respondents wanting to buy a second-hand home, rising two-thirds from December to 3.5% in January. Looking at the figures for a full year, the increase came at the expense of fence-sitters, indicating that much of the wish to buy a home is driven by a real need for housing.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 7, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011