Building starts in Israel reach 18-year high

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Apartments under construction hit the highest number since 1997, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

There were 25,100 building starts in the first half of 2015, 27% of which were either single-family or two-family houses, 7.9% more than in the corresponding period last year. The figures are from a survey of building starts and completions by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Trend data show an average increase in building starts of 3.2% per quarter in the October 2014-June 2015, compared with a 3.2% average decrease in January-September 2014.

97,300 apartments were under active construction at the end of June 2015, the highest figure since the end of September 1997.

The central district led in building starts in the first half of the year, accounting for 24% of the nationwide total, while the Jerusalem district accounted for only 9% of the total.

The survey also showed that buildings starts increased by 78% in the first half of the year in the southern district, compared with the corresponding period in 2014, 32% in the Haifa district, 17% in the northern district, and 9% in the Tel Aviv district. In the same period, housing starts were down 29% in the Jerusalem district and 16% in the central district.

Construction of 21,470 apartments was completed in the first half of 2015, 6.9% more than in the corresponding period last year. The largest number of housing completions was in the central district, which accounted for 29% of the nationwide total, while Jerusalem accounted for only 10%. Housing completions in the first half of the year were up by 25% in the Jerusalem district and 22% in the Haifa district, compared with the first half of 2014, while housing completions in the first half fell by 9% in the northern district and 2% in the central district.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 9, 2015

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015

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