More than 3,800 Israelis own six or more apartments, up 50% over the past six years, including 511 Israelis who own 10 apartments or more, the Israel Tax Authority has told "Globes." The figures also show that the number of Israelis owning two apartments or more has been consistently rising and in the first five months of 2021 has risen 2% from the end of 2020.
The rise in buying homes for an investment is no surprise considering that home prices have been consistently rising, except for a slight fall in 2018 and have risen 25% over the past six years.
The increase in the number of investors in Israel's real estate market comes despite efforts to deter them by former Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon, through higher taxes. Between 2015 and July 2020, purchase tax on the lower brackets was raised by about 60%.
In recent years the Chief Economist at the Ministry of Finance has produced surveys to show that investors had sold 27,000 apartments and the number of apartments purchases by investors had fallen to a low point.
But now it seems that the Ministry of Finance's efforts were in vain. Between May 2015 and May 2021, according to the Israel Tax Authority, the number of people owning two or more apartments rose at least 30% to 326,000 today. The number of people owning 'only' two apartments rose by 28% to 253,000, the number of people owning three apartments rose 35% to 51,448, and the number of people owning six apartments or more rose by 50%.
Real estate experts explain the contradiction between the figures of the Ministry of Finance Chief Economist and the Israel Tax Authority on inheritances rather than purchases. Every year thousands of apartments in Israel are passed onto heirs.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 24, 2021
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