July-September: An increase of 9% in apartment purchase: 25,800

According to the data, in July-September this year the number of transactions in the free real estate market (excluding sales as part of the price per occupant and target price) was 25,800 apartments - an increase of about 9% compared to the corresponding quarter last year and a sharp jump of 54% compared to the second quarter. This is the highest level since the first quarter of 2017.
If sales of government-subsidized apartments are included, the number of transactions in the quarter amounted to 30,000 apartments - an increase of 5.5% compared to the corresponding quarter and a jump of 54% compared to the previous quarter. This is also the highest level of transactions since the second quarter of 2015, where a record level was set against the background of early investor acquisitions before raising the purchase tax at the end of June that year.
Despite the recovery in the quarter, the effects of the virus on previous quarters cannot be ignored. The data show that in the first nine months of the year, about 65,000 apartments were purchased - a decrease of 8% compared to the corresponding period last year. If government-subsidized apartments are included, this is a total of 75,000 apartments - a decrease of 9% compared to last year.
The increase in transactions in the third quarter missed the heart of demand areas - Tel Aviv and the center - where the number of transactions continued to decline compared to the corresponding quarter last year. In the Tel Aviv area, the number of transactions amounted to less than 2,000 apartments - a decrease of 3% compared to the third quarter in 2019, following a decrease of 33% recorded in the previous quarter. A historical comparison found that the Tel Aviv area is ranked in the lowest position in terms of number of transactions.
In the central region, there was an 8% decrease in the purchase of new and second-hand apartments - the fourth consecutive quarter in which the number of transactions decreased. A total of 9,300 apartments were purchased in this area in January-September this year - a decrease of 17% compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, the Jerusalem areas (especially in the city of Beit Shemesh) and Hadera stand out with a sharp increase in the number of transactions at rates of 24% and 19%, respectively (although in the Hadera area there has been a cumulative sharp decline since the beginning of the year).