June 2021 new record: 13.8 thousand apartments were purchased an increase of 26% compared to 2020

 June 2021 set a new benchmark in apartment purchases since the peak set in June 2015 (then investors preceded their purchase against the background of the purchase tax increase), in this month 13.8 thousand apartments were purchased an increase of 26% compared to June last year. Due to the corona virus.
It is difficult to say that the figure for the high volume of transactions published by the Chief Economist's Division of the Treasury was surprising, given the Bank of Israel's data on the volume of mortgages in June, which set an all-time high of NIS 11.6 billion. This amount was divided by 12.5 thousand mortgages - 43% higher than in June 2020, and reflects an average amount of NIS 928,000 per mortgage.
After deducting price-per-tenant transactions, the volume of purchases in the free market was 12.7 thousand apartments, and even in this case it is the highest level since June 2015. Compared to June 2020, this is an increase of 38%, and an increase of 13% compared to the previous month (May).
The second-hand housing market was the most dominant with 9.1 thousand dwellings purchased, a jump of 36% compared to June 2020 and a 15% increase compared to the previous month. The Hadera area led the jump in transactions with an unusual increase of 73% compared to June 2020. In that month, only 2.9 thousand apartments were purchased in this area alone. In Tel Aviv, there was a slight increase of 25% in the volume of second-hand transactions, which amounted to 3.4 thousand apartments.
In terms of new dwellings, the contractors sold 4,700 dwellings this month, an increase of 10% compared to June last year and an increase of 4% compared to the previous month. Of this volume, about 1,100 apartments were sold as part of a price per occupant and the rest were sold on the free market. Alongside these, it can be noted that REIT funds purchased only 200 apartments this month compared to 420 in the previous month, a figure that may indicate that high apartment prices make it difficult for REIT funds to continue buying apartments at a high rate, and that high demand from apartment buyers allows contractors to sell inventories quickly Comfortable for them. The cash flow of the contractors from the sale of apartments in June reached an amount of NIS 9.6 billion, an increase of 27% compared to June 2020.
Of the total acquisitions, investors purchased 2,900 apartments, a jump of 126% compared to June 2020 and in Tel Aviv and Hadera the volume of jumps was 250%. From the date of the tax reduction until the end of last June, about 24,000 apartments were purchased by investors, an average purchase rate of 2,186 apartments indicating an increase of up to 92% in the purchase rate of investors compared to the period before the tax increase. The Treasury to try to cool the real estate market a bit would be to raise the purchase tax back to its previous rate (8% instead of 5% today). Along with investors' purchases, there was also a significant volume of apartment sales by investors, which stood at 2.9 thousand apartments, so that the stock of apartments held by investors remained the same, and even with a slight decrease.
In terms of buyer status, young couples purchased 5,900 apartments in June, an increase of about 4% compared to the corresponding month in 2020 and an increase of 7% compared to the previous month. The increase is due, among other things, to a decrease in the volume of purchases as part of the price per occupant, while the proportion of young couples who purchased apartments on the free market increased by 22% compared to June 2020 and an increase of 11% compared to the previous month. In this context, it can be seen that indeed the total purchases within the price per occupant fell by 35% and stood at only 1,100 apartments.
Another segment of buyers who recorded an increase was that of housing developers who purchased about 5,000 apartments this month - a 25% increase compared to June last year. This increase encompassed all areas in the country except Tel Aviv, where there was a decrease of 3% compared to June 2020.