Home sales fell 17% in 2011 compared with 2010, the Ministry of Finance reported today in its Red Lights macroeconomic survey. However, new and second-hand home sales rose 8% in December to 7,400 homes from 6,848 homes sold in November.
The Ministry of Finance attributes the growth in home sales in December to a sharp increase in sales in the periphery, especially in Hadera, where sales doubled thanks to sales in a large project to a consumer club. The reference is apparently to 235 apartments sold in a Shikun u'Binui Holdings Ltd. (TASE: SKBN) project in the city.
The ministry said that, notwithstanding the sales recovery in December, compared with November, home sales were down 27% compared with December 2010. There were 46% fewer new home sales in December than in the corresponding month, and 18% fewer second-hand home sales.
In a separate development, the Ministry of Housing and Construction today reported a 14% drop in tenders for public housing in January, to 459 apartments, compared with January 2011. Tenders were 65% higher than in December, however.
The Ministry of Finance reported a 41% drop in the number of apartments bought for investment in December compared with the corresponding month. Purchases of apartments for investment accounted for 26% of all purchases in December, down from 33% in the corresponding month. However, the proportion was up from 24% in December, due to a 54% jump in purchases of apartments for investment in Beersheva.
The Red Lights survey's figures on home prices confirmed the trend reported by the Government Assessor, although the Red Light survey examines new apartments, and the Government Assessor survey only considers four-room apartments (both new and second-hand). The Ministry of Finance says that the median price of new apartments fell 1% to NIS 889,000 in December from NIS 898,000 in November. The median price was still 13.5% higher than in December 2010.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2012
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