Demand for new homes continued to climb in January 2011, rising 1.5% to 3,684 homes from 3,630 homes in December 2010, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today.
The increase continues the trend of recent months, although it appears to be slowing, together with an easing in the number of new homes sold. Figures for the coming months may indicate whether this is a trend, or a one-off event.
Demand for homes rose by an annualized 30% in November-January, after rising at a similar rate in August-October 2010. The strongest demand was in the Central District, which accounted for 46% of total demand in January, compared with just 5% in the Jerusalem District.
On the basis of new home sales in January, the inventory of new homes is sufficient for 7.9 months, i.e. the time needed to sell all remaining unsold apartments. The inventory amounts to 16 months in the Jerusalem District, 11 months in the Northern District, eight months in the Central District, seven months in the Tel Aviv District, and five months each in the Haifa and Southern districts, assuming that the pace of sales remains unchanged and there are no housing starts.
In the wake of the Central Bureau of Statistics figures on continuing housing demand and falling inventory, Association of Contractors and Builders general manager Motti Kidur said that the shortage of construction workers would cause home prices to rise further.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 28, 2011
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