Housing snapshot: Home sales and rentals across Israel in November 2024
The Times of Israel’s regular feature on what is happening in the local property market right now
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter
In August and September, home prices showed a decline compared to the previous two months for the first time since the start of the war in October 2023, with construction activity recovering slightly though the sector is still hampered by an acute shortage of Palestinian workers.
Home prices in Israel declined 0.1 percent in August and September compared to July and August, figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics show. In July and August, prices rose 0.2% compared to the previous two-month period. Prices have been on the rise in Israel since November and December 2023, after they declined 0.5% in October and November 2023 compared to the previous two months. The war with Hamas in Gaza, still ongoing, started on October 7, 2023. Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon came to a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday, halting nearly 14 months of fighting.
Compared to August and September 2023, prices in that period this year rose by 6.1%. In the third quarter of 2024, the average price of an apartment in Israel stood at NIS 2,242,900 (roughly $614,000), a decline of 3.7% compared to the previous quarter, the CBS data shows.
“Activity in the construction industry is recovering gradually, but limitations on activity in the industry given the war, mainly manpower limitations, remain significant,” the Bank of Israel said in a statement on November 25, announcing that interest rates would remain unchanged at a high 4.5% amid the continuing geopolitical uncertainty. “The pace of home price increases is moderating.”
When compared to the previous two months, prices in August and September declined 0.7% in the central Israel district, 0.1% in the Tel Aviv area, and 0.7% in the Jerusalem area. Prices rose 0.9% in the Haifa district, 0.4% in the southern district, and 1.2% in the northern district.
According to Finance Ministry data, 8,180 homes were acquired in September, a 39% rise compared to the same period a year earlier. When taking into account the autumn Jewish holidays, which reduce the number of workdays in the month, average daily sales in September were only 1% higher compared to September a year earlier, the ministry said. Investors bought 1,382 homes in September, up 54% compared to the same month a year ago, but also sold 1,480 units in September, a 26% rise compared to the same period a year earlier.
“Investors sell apartments because interest rates are still high in Israel,” said Netanel Shuchner, a lecturer in economics and real estate valuations at the College of Management Academic Studies and the CEO of real estate firm RMA-ET. “It is not economical to hold a house in Israel, because you pay 5%-6% interest on a mortgage, but get a return of just 2%-3% if you rent out the apartment.”
Acquisitions by foreign residents surged by 119% in September compared to a year earlier, the highest level since July 2022, to 254 homes. Most of the acquisitions’ growth is concentrated in the Jerusalem area, with Beit Shemesh, where foreign residents bought 87 units in September, being particularly prominent, the ministry said.
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, October to November 2024, to present the most up-to-date picture of the market. Where available, the exchange rate at the time of the purchase as it appears in the database is used.
In Tel Aviv-Jaffa, a 72-square-meter (775-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 2 Yiftah Street was sold for NIS 2,900,000 ($794,773) on November 4. The apartment is on the first of a seven-floor building built in 2017. The unit has a parking space attached.
A 92-square-meter (990-square-foot), four-room (three-bedroom) apartment at 46 Derech Shlomo was sold for NIS 5,500,000 ($1,507,328) on October 30. The apartment is on the 14th floor of a 17-floor building built in 2020.
A 61-square-meter (657-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 48 Shaked Street was sold for NIS 2,350,000 ($644,040) on November 18. The apartment is on the fourth floor of a four-floor building built in 1960.
In Jerusalem a 105-square-meter (1,130-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 19 Gdud Hermesh Street was sold for NIS 2,555,000 ($682,425) on October 28. The apartment is on the fifth floor of a five-floor building built in 1990. The unit has a parking space for one car.
A 92-square-meter (990-square-foot), four-room (three-bedroom) apartment at 14 Antigonus Street was sold for NIS 4,254,000 ($1,165,850) on November 10. The apartment is on the fifth floor of a 10-floor building built in 2022.
A 65-square-meter (700-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 7 Mazal Te’omim Street was sold for NIS 1,401,885 ($384,200) on November 14. The apartment is on the first floor of a four-floor building built in 2003.
In Beit Shemesh a 120-square-meter (1,292-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 15 Nahal Dolev Street was sold for NIS 2,200,000 ($602,931) on October 25. The apartment is on the ground floor of a two-floor building built in 1999 and has a garden.
A 124-square-meter (1,335-square-foot), five-room (four-bedroom) apartment at 36 Reish Lakish Street was sold for NIS 2,959,000 ($810,943) on October 31. The apartment is on the second floor of a nine-floor building built in 2021. The unit comes with one parking space.
In Haifa a 140-square-meter (1,507-square-foot), six-room (five-bedroom) apartment at 29 Borochov Street was sold for NIS 2,690,000 ($719,443) on November 11. The apartment is on the second floor of a two-floor building built in 1950.
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 60-square-meter (646-square-foot), two-room (one-bedroom) garden apartment at 37 Kehilat Lodz, in the Hadar Yossef neighborhood in the north of the city, was put on the market for NIS 4,600 ($1,261) monthly. The unit has no shelter and no air conditioning.
In Jerusalem, a 60-square-meter (646-square-foot), three-room (two-bedroom) apartment at 64 Shahal Street, in the Givat Mordechai neighborhood, was put on the market for NIS 5,900 ($1,617) monthly. The unit, on the seventh floor of eight, comes with a parking space, a lift, and air conditioning. It has a large living room and storage space, the website says.
In Haifa, an 80-square-meter (861-square-foot), three-room apartment (two-bedroom) on the third floor of three at 38 Yetsi’at Eropa was put on the market for NIS 3,500 ($959) monthly. The partially furnished and renovated unit has a storage space, is air-conditioned with a parking space, but has no lift.
