Israel’s national planning bodies approved 223,164 housing units in 2025, achieving 180% of the government’s annual target of 125,000 units, according to a year-end report published Thursday by the Planning Administration of the Interior Ministry. The figure marks a rise from 204,101 housing units approved in 2024.
While the government has exceeded its planning goals, professionals in the field continue to stress that the bottleneck lies in implementation. “There is no planning crisis, there is an execution crisis,” is a long-standing refrain in the sector. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, construction timelines continue to grow longer.
The data show that about 10% of all approved units—approximately 20,000—were designated for rentals and micro-apartments, with about 11,000 units specifically for rental housing. Half of all approvals in 2025 came through urban renewal projects. Over the course of the year, 11,426 building permits were issued for a total of 74,275 units.
The Southern District led in approvals with 27,478 housing units, followed by the Jerusalem District with 27,079 and the Central District with 26,686. In the Haifa District, 20,558 units were approved; in the Northern District, 18,223; and in the Tel Aviv District, the smallest in size, 14,459. An additional 25,254 housing units were approved by local planning committees.
The National Committee for Planning and Building of Priority Housing Areas approved 18 plans comprising 63,400 housing units. Nine of those plans were urban renewal projects involving 28,000 units. Around 14,450 units were approved in areas near planned metro, light rail and heavy rail lines. In the western Negev, plans advanced for 17,500 housing units in Sderot, Netivot and Ofakim. The government also declared 55,320 housing units in designated priority housing areas.
Beyond housing, the Planning Administration advanced national infrastructure, transportation, energy and tourism plans. In 2025, 100 detailed infrastructure plans were approved, including 40 in energy, 32 in transportation, four in mining and quarrying, two for waste management and three for stormwater drainage. Plans also included 25 kilometers of Tel Aviv metro routes and 190 kilometers of new railway tracks, extending Israel’s rail network to Kiryat Shmona and Be'er Sheva.