Demand for new flats down 21% in Q2

The second quarter of 2011 recorded a 21% drop in the demand for new apartments in Israel, compared to the first quarter of the year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Sunday.

Compared to the same period last year, the demand for new apartments was down 7%.

In June 2011, the demand for new homes totaled 2,430 units – 1,440 which were sold to the wide public and some 990 used by the land owner for rent purposes or purchase groups.

The highest demand for new apartments in the first half of the year was recorded in Jerusalem (953). Yavne recorded a rise in the number of wanted apartments – from 173 to 876, as did Ganei Tikva – from 81 to 394, Ramla – from 97 to 438.

Beersheba saw a 77% rise in the demand for new apartments, while Kfar Saba, Ashdod and Petah Tikva saw a drop of 40%, 34% and 28%, respectively.

The second quarter of 2011 recorded a 12% and 19% drop in the sales of new apartments compared to the same period in 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, respectively.

The first half of 2011 saw an average monthly drop of 3.2% in the sales of new apartments, following an average monthly increase of 1.6% between March-December 2010.

The number of new apartments for sale in late June 2011 (about 16,450) was 14% higher compared to late June 2010.

Of all new flats on the market in late June, some 39% were offered in the central district, 20% in the southern district, 13% in the Tel Aviv area, 12% in the Jerusalem area, 6% in the Haifa area and 6% in the northern district.

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