The number of housing units rose sharply in March, compared with February. Contractors sold 2,895 new housing units in March, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures for demand for new housing published today, compared with 2,487 in February 2016, a 16.4% increase, and 2,642 in March 2015, a 9.5% increase.
Two days ago, the Ministry of Finance chief economist department published a real estate review with figures for January-February 2016. The review stated that the volume of deals had fallen. At the same time, the review said near the end that initial figures for March show a rise in the volume of deals. Today's Central Bureau of Statistics figures support this upward trend in the rate of deals.
A look at the number of new housing units sold in the first three months of the year combined (January-March 2016) show a 3.7% rise, compared with the corresponding period last year. During this year, increases in the number of new housing units sold took place in the southern district (93%), Haifa district (23%), and the central district (1%) The number of new housing units sold was down in Jerusalem (minus 22%), Tel Aviv (minus 19%), and the northern district minus (8%).
There are also Central Bureau of Statistics figures for the extent of activity by buyers groups. The figures showed a fall in activity in this sector: in the first three months of 2016, construction began on 440 housing units for buyers groups - one unit for each 18.7 units sold by contractors. This was less than in the corresponding period last year, when construction began on 520 housing units for buyers groups, one unit for each 15.5 units sold by contractors.
The figures also show that half of the housing units on which construction for buyers groups began were located in the Tel Aviv region (210 units) and Jerusalem (50 units). The ratio of housing units built for buyers groups in the Tel Aviv district to new housing units sold by contractors was very high: one buyers' group unit for each 5.6 units sold by contractors.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 5, 2016
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