Permits were issued to start building 51,660 new homes in Israel in 2020, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, down 7.8% from 2019. For long periods of last year, the local committees which grant the building permits were unable to sit because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There were sharp differences in the situation in different regions. The number of building permits granted in 2020 rose 1.6% in the Central Region compared with 2019 but fell 16.2% to 11,500 in the Tel Aviv region. The situation was even worse in the Haifa region where the number of building permits for new homes fell 28.7% to 4,707. RELATED ARTICLES Home price rise in Israel becomes a leap CPI fell 0.1% in January, housing prices jumped 0.9% Housing sales in Israel hit 20-year high in 2020 Actual building starts last year were 51,600, down only 3.5% from 2019 and according to outgoing Israel Land Administration (ILA) director general Adiel Shimron, Israel needs 50,000 new homes each year to keep up with demand. Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 14, 2021 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021
