Demand for new flats in 2009 highest in 7 years
Central Bureau of Statistics says demand for new apartments was up 10% compared to 2008, with 13% rise in number of sold flats
The demand for new apartments in Israel rose by about 10% in 2009 compared to 2008 and was the highest since 2002, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported recently.
According to the data, the reviewed period saw a 13% rise in the number of sold flats and a 5% increase in the number of apartments being constructed not for sales purposes. The demand for new apartments totaled 2,360 units in December 2009 – 1,390 which were sold to the public and about 970 whose construction began not for sales purposes.
Apartments constructed not for sales purposes are units built by the land owner for personal use or for lease purposes. Most of these apartments were built in 2009 by buyers' groups: 45% in the Tel Aviv district and 40% in the Jerusalem district.
According to the figures, 2009 saw a rise in the demand for new flats in all districts compared to 2008, with the highest demand – 35% – recorded in the central district. The demand in northern Israel stood at 19% and the demand in southern Israel was 11.3% of all new apartments.
Some areas, however, saw a drop in demand. The Tel Aviv district, for example, recorded a 10.2% fall, and the Judea and Samaria area saw an 8.5% drop.
A dramatic decline was recorded in the number of privately-initiated apartments for sale. Their number stood at only 8,080 in the end of December 2009 – a 27% drop compared to the end of December 2008. About 36% of all privately-initiated apartments which were still on sale in December 2009 were located in the central district, and about 29% in the Tel Aviv district.
About half of the privately-initiated new apartments on sale at the end of December 2009 had been on sale for about nine months, with an average of 13 months passing since their construction began at the end of December 2009.
According to estimates, it would take about 16 months to sell all new apartments which were still on sale in December 2009 in the Jerusalem district, about a year in the Tel Aviv district, about 11 months in the northern district and about six months in the southern and central district and in Haifa.
