In November 2022, the total of mortgage loans taken in Israel was NIS 7.6 billion, down 31% from November 2021, the Bank of Israel reports. The figure is considerably higher than the NIS 6.089 billion taken in mortgages in October, although the holidays dampened business activity during the month.
These figures follow reports from the Israel Tax Authority earlier today that there was a 27% decline in purchase tax revenues in September-October 2022, compared with the corresponding period of 2021 and a 7% fall in appreciation tax.
The Israeli real estate market is cooling rapidly after six successive rate hikes this year have made mortgages far more expensive. Between May and October, the figure for new mortgage loans fell every month, something that has not happened for years.
Nevertheless, the November NIS 7.6 billion figure would have been considered a relatively high figure until the past few years. Before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020, mortgage taking in Israel averaged between NIS 5 billion and NIS 7 billion per month. Over the past few years mortgage taking had been steadily rising, reaching a record NIS 13 billion in March 2022, the month before interest rates began to rise.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 13, 2022.
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