In the first quarter of 2010 housing starts rose 7% from the corresponding quarter of 2009 but fell 6.4% from the preceding quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today.

The number of houses completed fell by 18% in the first quarter of 2010 to 7,240 units from the corresponding quarter and fell 10.6% from the preceding quarter.

In the first quarter of 2010, there were 8,660 housing starts, of which 43% were private houses. The Central District led with 36% of housing starts in the first quarter of 2010, and a 20% increase over the corresponding quarter. In the Northern District, housing starts fell by 10.3% in the first quarter compared with the corresponding quarter. 20.8% of housing starts were in this district, and 84% of housing units in this district were in buildings with just one or two homes.

In the Tel Aviv District there was a rise of 17.5% in housing starts, and the district accounted for 9.2% of all housing starts in the country. In Haifa housing starts jumped 60% although Haifa only accounted for 8.7% of all housing starts. In Jerusalem there was a fall of 20.4% in housing starts, accounting for 9.9% of all housing starts.

Half of all housing starts in the first quarter were on privately owned land.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 31, 2010

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