Despite the social protests for affordable housing, home prices in Israel continue to rise. In May, the price of an average Israeli home rose by 0.7%, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics' Home Price Index.
Although many believed that home prices had peaked, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports that home prices rose by 2.2% between January and May 2012.
The Central Bureau of Statistics stresses that these are preliminary figures based on an initial surveys of prices, and final data will be published in the coming months.
The Home Price Index was published along with the Consumer Price Index for June, which showed housing prices (rentals) rising by 0.1% even though the CPI fell 0.3% over the month.
Other indications that home prices are on the rise have been the amount taken in new mortgages. New mortgages taken in June were $3.94 billion in June and $4.1 billion in May, well over the low point of NIS 2.3 billion in October 2011, three months after the Bank of Israel capped the variable interest component of mortgages to one-third of the total, in an effort to rein in the market.
In May, the Ministry of Finance reported that 9,359 new and second hand apartments were sold, 17% more than May 2011.
The rise in apartment prices follows falls in 2011. The average price of an apartment at the end of the first quarter of 2012 was NIS 1.09 million, down 3% from the first quarter of 2011, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 15, 2012
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