A new report from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics reveals a surprising downturn in apartment sales during the final months of 2024, despite earlier positive trends. While sales showed a 65.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023 following October 7 and the start of Operation Iron Swords, the period between September and November 2024 saw an unexpected 18.8% decline compared to the previous quarter.
The new housing sector has seen its own pattern of fluctuations, with an average 3.6% monthly decline from August 2021 to March 2023, followed by a 3.5% monthly increase from April 2023 to May 2024, before returning to a decline of 3.0% per month starting June 2024.Second-hand apartments comprised 57.4% of total sales (about 12,370 units), showing a 17.4% decrease from the previous quarter. While this sector experienced a 3.3% decline from September 2021 to August 2023, it saw an average monthly increase of 2.9% from September 2023 to October 2024. A slight downward trend was noted in November 2024, though the CBS cautions that it's too early to confirm a definitive trend reversal.Regionally, the Central District dominated the market with 23.2% of total sales during September-November 2024, accounting for 23.7% of new apartments and 22.9% of second-hand sales. The Southern District followed closely with 22.9% of total sales, 25.6% of which were new apartments and 20.9% second-hand. Tel Aviv-Yafo, Ofakim, and Jerusalem each recorded over 600 new apartment sales, while Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beer Sheva led in second-hand sales with over 700 units each.The inventory of unsold new apartments reached approximately 71,040 units by November's end, with an estimated 21.4 -month supply – a notable increase from October's 69,730 units. This inventory has been growing by an average of 1.4% monthly since April 2022.
The Tel Aviv District holds the largest share of unsold inventory at 32.2% (22,880 units), followed by the Central District with 24.4% (17,290 units). Among major cities with populations exceeding 100,000, Tel Aviv-Yafo leads with about 8,470 unsold units, while Jerusalem follows with approximately 6,220 units.