Housing snapshot: Home sales and rentals across Israel in January 2025

The Times of Israel’s regular feature on what is happening in the local property market right now

Lit-up apartment building in Petah Tikva, August 2021. (Itay Tamir via iStock by Getty Images)
Lit-up apartment building in Petah Tikva, August 2021. (Itay Tamir via iStock by Getty Images)

Home prices in Israel continued to rise in November, recently released data shows.

Prices rose 0.6% in October and November 2024 compared to the previous two months, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. Compared to the same period a year ago, October and November 2023, prices have surged 7.8%.

Prices continued to rise consistently in 2024 after declining in the second half of 2023. A combination of factors — including a longstanding housing shortage, strong population growth, and growing foreign investment — has kept demand high even as the conflict disrupts construction and economic stability.

Prices rose in all areas of the country. Compared to the previous two months, prices in October and November 2024 rose by 0.4% in Jerusalem, 0.4% in the northern district, 1.2% in the Tel Aviv area, 0.4% in the central Israel district, 0.3% in Haifa, and 0.2% in the southern district.

According to Finance Ministry data, 7,150 apartments were sold in November. This is 73% more than were sold last October, when real estate activity reached historic lows due to the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023. It is an 8.5% increase from November 2022.

Sales in November were 40% higher than in October, with half of the increase due to the fact that there were fewer working days in October because of the holiday season.

Investors purchased 1,087 apartments in November and sold 1,397 apartments, 17% and 16% lower than in November 2022, respectively, the report said.

An annual report from CBS published in January found that the total number of apartments in Israel rose by 2.1% to 2.96 million between July 2024 and a year earlier. Of the 61,200 new apartments added, 24.7% were in the central district and 19.5% were in Tel Aviv, while just 10.3% were in Jerusalem, the report noted.

In the last 12 years, the housing supply in Israel has increased by 26.1%, the report said.

Apartment buildings in the Gonen neighborhood of Jerusalem, one of the most popular locations for Israeli investment properties (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Looking forward to 2025, home buyers are going to pay more taxes after VAT was raised from 17% to 18% at the beginning of January. This will affect the purchase price of new construction properties and commercial real estate transactions, but not the sale of secondhand homes.

In addition, high-income sellers will pay higher capital gains taxes on property sales. Currently, a “wealth tax” of 3% is levied on individuals with annual incomes of more than NIS 721,560 ($201,359). Starting in 2025, an additional 2% surtax will also be imposed on capital gains of that amount for people fitting into that category.

“That’s a smart way for the government to raise taxes to help pay for the effects of the war, but I don’t think people won’t sell their properties because of that,” said Chaim Friedman, co-founder and managing director of First Israel Group, a boutique mortgage brokerage based in Jerusalem.

Friedman noted that a reform passed in August gives new immigrants a huge tax break on their first apartment that may virtually eliminate purchase taxes for acquisitions of up to NIS 6 million ($1.7 million).

An artist’s rendition of a new building complex planned for Jerusalem’s Hebron Road (Studio Yigal Levi Architects)

Sales

To provide the housing snapshot below, we used the Israel Tax Authority’s database, which records the actual prices paid for properties. The focus is on sales over the last month to present the most up-to-date picture of the market.

In Tel Aviv-Jaffa, an 85-square-meter (915-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 1 Eli Cohen Street was sold for NIS 4,208,000 ($1,169,000) on January 15. The apartment is on the third of a 12-floor building built in 2003.

A 71-square-meter (764-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 4 Stern Street was sold for NIS 3,550,000 ($986,738) on January 15. The apartment is on the first floor of a four-floor building built in 1940.

A 49-square-meter (527-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 30 Menahem Arber Street was sold for NIS 2,209,000 ($614,000) on January 14. The apartment is on the third floor of a four-floor building built in 1970.

In Jerusalem, an 81-square-meter (872-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 5 David Elroi Street was sold for NIS 3,620,000 ($1,006,195) on January 2. The apartment is on the first floor of an 11-floor building built in 1970.

A 159-square-meter (1,711-square-foot), 5.5-room (four-bedroom) apartment at 30 Reuven Mas Street was sold for NIS 3,550,000 ($1,091,300) on January 6. The apartment is on the top floor of a three-floor building built in 1970.

A 149-square-meter (1,604-square-foot), five-room (four-bedroom) apartment at 16 Yossi Ben Yoezer Street was sold for NIS 4,650,000 ($1,292,488) on January 1. The apartment is on the ground floor of a two-floor building built in 1970.

In Beit Shemesh, a 90-square-meter (969-square-foot), four-room (three-bedroom) apartment in the Ramat Lehi neighborhood was sold for NIS 2,080,000 ($578,145) on January 1. The apartment is on the second floor of a five-floor building built in 2019.

A 122-square-meter (1,313-square-foot), five-room (four-bedroom) apartment at 2 Ahavat Shalom Street was sold for NIS 2,859,230 ($794,736) on January 13. The apartment is on the ground floor of an eight-floor building under construction.

In Haifa, a 156-square-meter (1,679-square-foot), five-room (four-bedroom) apartment at 30 Naomi Shemer Street was sold for NIS 3,250,000 ($903,352) on January 8. The apartment is on the fourth floor of a five-floor building built in 2024.

A view of apartment buildings in the Kiryat HaYovel neighborhood of Jerusalem. (Yaakov Lederman/Flash90)

Rentals

The database of the real estate website Madlan was used to compile this sample of rental apartments on the market with a focus on three-room (two-bedroom) properties, suitable for a couple, two roommates, or a small family.

In Tel Aviv, a 120-square-meter (1,291-square-foot), 3.5-room (two-bedroom) apartment on Beeri Street in the north of the city was put on the market for NIS 12,000 ($3,335) monthly. The unit has an elevator and parking.

In Jerusalem, a 60-square-meter (646-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 49 Harakevet Street in Baka was put on the market for NIS 6,500 ($1,806) monthly. The unit has a porch.

In Haifa, a 100-square-meter (1,076-square-foot), four-room apartment (three-bedroom) on the fourth floor of five at 60 Hatichon Street was put on the market for NIS 5,100 ($1,417) monthly. The unit includes a storage area, porch, and parking.

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