The May-June index reading indicates that home prices in Israel are again rising. Inflation remains within the target range despite a lower than expected Consumer Price Index in July.
The Home Price Index rose 0.9% for the period May-June 2018 in comparison with April-May 2018, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today, wiping out the falls of the past year. This is the first time that the Home Price Index has risen since August 2017. Housing prices in April-May rose 2.2% in Tel Aviv, 0.8% in Jerusalem, 0.2% in the north, 0.6% in central Israel and 0.7% in the south. The only location where home prices continued to fall in April-May was Haifa where prices fell 0.8%. The average price of a home sold in Israel in the second quarter was NIS 1.53 million.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July was unchanged, below the expected rise of 0.2%. The CPI has risen 0.9% since the start of 2018 and 1.4% over the past 12 months, still within the government's target range for annual inflation of between 1% and 3%.
Prices of fresh fruit and vegetables rose 2.5% in July. Other price rises in July included transport (0.7%) and food (0.5%). Prices of clothing and footwear fell 6.7% in July.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 15, 2018
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018
housing
Amiram Barkat and Ron Stein