29% Rise in Apartment Purchases for Q4 of 2020

From October 2020 to January 2021, roughly 28,700 apartments were purchased in Israel, an increase of 29% compared to the same period in 2019, according to a report the Finance Ministry released on Monday.

This increase, the highest since 2016, is explained by the purchase of around 6,200 apartments by investors, an increase of 77% compared to the same quarter in 2019.

The purchase tax was reduced last July.

Over the whole of 2020, 107,500 transactions for apartments were carried out – a decrease of 2% compared to 2019. Of all transactions, the share of investors was 19.2% of total purchases, i.e., 6.3% more compared to the last quarter of 2019 and 4.5% more than for the previous quarter.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, November was the month in which the most apartments were purchased since 2009.

Most experts predict the boom to continue in 2021, however, with prices expected to rise 3 to 4% during the year, according to government forecasts.