Home prices were 1% higher in the first quarter of 2012 than in the preceding quarter, but 3% less than in the corresponding quarter of 2011, according to a Ministry of Housing and Construction survey.
The Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Finance, and the Government Assessor have all published their housing surveys for the first quarter, but only Ministry of Housing's data processing presents a weighted picture of new and second-hand homes by the number of rooms, and location.
According to Ministry of Housing data that have not yet been published, the average apartment price (the average price of new and second-hand apartments of all sizes) in the Tel Aviv District was NIS 1.5 million at the end of March, 1% less than at the end of December, and 8% less than a year earlier. This is the first survey to state that the average home price in the Tel Aviv District is not the highest, behind the average price of NIS 1.55 million in the Jerusalem District, according to the Ministry of Housing.
The Northern District has the cheapest housing: the average home price was NIS 646,000 at the end of March, 7.5% more than a year earlier. The largest price rise was in Judea and Samaria: the average home price in the settlements was NIS 1.07 million at the end of March, up 11% from a year earlier.
The average home price in the Central District was NIS 1.3 million at the end of March, down 7% from a year earlier, but the average home price in the Haifa District rose 8% to NIS 870,000, and rose by almost 1% in the Southern District to NIS 770,000.
The average price for a new home was NIS 1.4 million at the end of March, 4.3% less than a year earlier, but barely changed from the end of December. The Ministry of Housing's figures contradict the figures of the Ministry of Finance, which claims that home prices were 13% lower in the first quarter than in the corresponding quarter.
The Ministry of Housing says that the fall in home prices between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 was mainly seen for new homes in the Tel Aviv and Central districts. This is a change in direction from the sharp rise in prices that began in 2008.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 17, 2012
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