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New flats supply down 30% in August
Central Bureau of Statistics reports number of new apartments built by private contractors decreasing, reaching only 7,380 units at end of last month. Apartment prices may continue to rise in light of drop in supply
Shai Puzner, Calcalist
Is the supply of the apartments for sale dropping significantly? According to data published this week by the Central Bureau of Statistics, only 1,160 new apartments built by private contractors (on land not controlled by the Israel Land Administration) were sold in Israel
in the month of August – down 7% compared to July and a 23% compared to June.
This constitutes a 12% drop compared to August of 2008.
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The apartments sold in August 2009 had been on the market, since their construction began, for an average of about 10 months. About half of the new apartments were on the market for about six months since the beginning of their construction.
According to the CBS figures, the number of new apartments offered for sale by private contractors is decreasing, reaching only 7,380 units at the end of August 2009 – a 30% drop compared to the same month last year.
Out of all the new apartments for sale at the end of August 2009, some 6,890 new flats were still being built, while the construction of 490 had been completed over the past 15 months.
Some 34% and 26% of the new apartments sold between January and August 2009 were in Jerusalem and in central Israel, respectively. About 22% and 20% in northern Israel and Tel Aviv, respectively, were sold during the first month of their construction or beforehand.
This last figure points to buyers' growing willingness to purchase flats "on paper" or at the very beginning of their construction, and implies that the prices of apartments may continue to rise in the next two years in light of the decreasing supply.
About 46% of all new apartments sold between January and August 2009 were in central Israel and about 22% in the Tel Aviv district.
The sale of new flats over that time span saw a decrease compared to the same period last year in the following districts: Jerusalem (89.2%), Haifa (26.9%), central Israel (19.7%) and southern Israel (7%). The Tel Aviv district and northern district, on the other hand, saw a 13.3% and 1.6% drop, respectively.
Some 185 new apartments were sold in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank between January and August this year, compared to 452 flats sold in the same period in 2008.
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