There were 12,000 housing starts in Israel in the first quarter of 2016, down 8.1% from the corresponding quarter of 2015, and down 8.5% from the preceding quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. This is the fourth consecutive quarter that housing starts have fallen. Nevertheless, 99,700 new homes are currently under construction, the highest figure since 1997.
28% of new buildings began are houses or semi-detached houses.
In the first quarter of 2016, housing starts were in the north fell 29%, building starts in the Tel Aviv district fell 18% and in Haifa by 3% compared with the corresponding quarter of 2015. In contrast there was a 13% rise in housing starts in the Jerusalem district and an 8% rise in building starts in the south.
In the first quarter of 2016, 32% of new housing starts were in the Central District and 8% were in Jerusalem.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 15, 2016
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