Mortgage taking in Israel smashes record in May

An all-time record NIS 9.5 billion in mortgages was taken in May according to initial figures issued by the Bank of Israel today. This is 9% above the previous monthly record set in March 2020.

2021 looks like being the third consecutive year in which the record for mortgage taking is broken, as the annual rate of mortgage taking approaches NIS 100 billion, after NIS 78.1 billion in mortgages was taken last year and NIS 67.7 billion in 2019. In the first five months of 2021, mortgages worth more than NIS 40 billion have been taken.

Bank of Israel figures show that mortgage takers, including young couples, are taking higher mortgages than in the past that represent a higher percentage of the home they are buying. In April the average mortgage taken by young couples buying apartments that were entitled to buy as part of the Mechir Lemishtaken program climbed NIS 942,000, up from NIS 833,000 in March and NIS 771,000 in February. The average mortgage of Mechir Lemishtaken buyers was 90% higher than in the months preceding the Covid crisis. The overall average mortgage was NIS 866,000, 20% higher than before the Covid crisis.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 15, 2021