Housing demand fell 15% to 2,663 new homes in April 2013 from 3,148 new homes in March, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. Housing demand fell 21.1% in April 2013 compared with 3,377 new homes in April 2012.
Housing demand includes both home sales by contractors and homes not available for sale, including buyers groups, build-your-own-home projects, rental apartment construction, and estimated illegal construction. Both home sales and homes not available for sale fell sharply in April, to reach a six-month low. Home sales in April were lower than in March, even though Passover fell in March this year, reducing the number of business days.
New home sales fell 10.3% from 1,847 sales in March to 1,655 homes in April, the lowest figure since September 2012. The number of homes not available for sale fell 22.5% from 1,301 homes in March to 1,008 homes in April.
The housing inventory was 5% lower in April than in March and 9.4% lower than in April 2012.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 27, 2013
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