The mortgage market is still hot. Figures published today by the Bank of Israel show that mortgages totaling NIS 4.6 billion were taken in October. The figure is high, considering that the Sukkot holiday fell in October. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fell in September this year, when mortgages totaled NIS 4.2 billion.
While the figures for September and October were overshadowed by the months that preceded them (mortgages totaled NIS 6.2 billion in August, NIS 6.6 billion in July, and a peak of NIS 7 billion in June), they were affected by the holidays. The mortgage market has been surging since March, with the volume of loans climbing after it became known that Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon was planning to raise the purchase tax on apartments for investments, leading many investors to bring their deals forward. Combined with the negligible interest rate, this propelled the market.
Mortgages taken during January-October this year totaled NIS 53.8 billion, a monthly average of NIS 5.38 billion, making 2015 a record year in this market.
For the first time since the beginning of the year, the volume of mortgages at variable interest overtook the volume of mortgages at fixed interest, reversing a trend that began in January. Mortgages at fixed interest totaled NIS 2.28 billion in October, compared with NIS 2.33 billion in mortgages at variable interest.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 11, 2015
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