Apartments reach record-high sales in May
Contractors Association reports more than 1,500 new flats sold across Israel in May – 10% rise compared to same month in 2008
According to ACB assessments, based on surveys conducted among dozens of construction companies across the country, with the help of local organizations, this figure constitutes a near 10% rise compared to May of 2008.
April of 2009, which was also a strong month in the industry, saw some 1,250 new apartments sold (in both private and public construction, according to data of the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Housing Ministry), pointing to a 20% rise compared to April of 2008.
Ashdod, Ashkelon 'back to post-war situation'
The Ashdod and Ashkelon Contractors' Association reported a revival in demands, as well as a price hike. Contractors sold during the month of May double the number of apartments than in April for high price levels reaching some NIS 720-750,000 (about $181-$189,000) for a four-room apartment in Ashkelon, and NIS 950,000 ($240,000) for a four-room apartment in Ashdod.
The data of the month of May, according to the Ashdod and Ashkelon contractors, returns the real estate industry in the region to the period before the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
The Haifa and North's Aontractors' Association estimated the rise in apartment sales at about 15%-20%, noting that the month of May also saw a small rise in the prices of flats in Haifa and its surroundings.
In the Sharon region contractors are reporting active sales of apartments in Kfar Saba and Raanana, noting that there is a trend of favoring "basic" apartments, such as four-room flats, and that premium apartments, the likes of penthouses and duplexes, are also being sold.
Record-high sales have been reported in May in the cities of Holon and Bat Yam, in central Israel. Some projects saw 100% rise in sales compared to previous months, with the prices remaining stable and even rising. Contractors in Bat Yam note that such sales in the month of May have not been seen since the Russian immigration of the 1990s.
'Revival in periphery as well'
Yossi Gordon, director-general of the Contractors' Association, said that the rise in demands stems mainly from demands for apartments which were not materialized at the start of the financial crisis.
"In the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, apartment buyers signed fewer deals as they expected prices to drop. When they realized that apartment prices were stable and even rose in some areas, they resumed signing deals."
Gordon added that the revival in deals going into escrow did not only focus on central Israel, but in periphery towns as well.
'Market boiling'
The Rotshtein company, which builds projects in Beer Yaakov and Netanya, reported the sale of 23 apartments in May, as well as a price hike of 3%-5%.
"The trend will continue and characterize the coming months as well," said CEO Avishay Ben-Haim. "This is the result of a period characterized by hidden demands which broke out. The economy rules always win."
The Turbovich company of the Etz Hashaked Group reported selling 11 apartments in the month of May in the company's project in Petah Tikva's Em Hamoshavot neighborhood. CEO Neil Turbovich believes people are afraid of a price hike and feel an opportunity has been created these days.
Avi Zeituni, CEO and owner of the A, Zeituni construction company, says that "the market is boiling. All the people who sat on the fence at the end of the past year have decided that there's no reason to wait anymore. The sales offices are full of interested people and buyers, and during the month of May we sold 15 apartments in our project in Kfar Saba and eight more flats in Petah Tikva.
