chief economist at the Ministry of Finance: 40% increase in the purchase of apartments in May

The monthly review of the chief economist at the Ministry of Finance, Shira Greenberg, published, reveals unsurprising data for May, when there was another increase in the purchase of apartments throughout Israel.
In May, 12.5 thousand apartments were purchased, an increase of 40% compared to May 2019 and an increase of 15% compared to last April.
Comparing the level of transactions in the free market last May to its counterparts in the last twenty years, it is found that this is the second highest level, and is only ahead of the level of sales in May 2013. In the market segment of new apartments sold in the free market, This peak is a relatively high level of purchases of rental housing complexes by companies operating in the field.
In the analysis of purchases of "first apartment" in the free market in May amounted to 4.5 thousand apartments, a sharp increase of 41% compared to May 2019. Purchases under "price per occupant" amounted to 1.2 thousand apartments, when for the first time purchases were made in this framework in the Galilee landscape. Relatively high rate of purchases by members of minorities.
Purchases of housing improvers in May amounted to 4.3 thousand apartments, an increase of 24% compared to May 2019, the duration of the sale of an apartment remained at a significantly higher level compared to last year.
As stated in May, 12.5 thousand apartments were purchased, an increase of 40% compared to May 2019 and an increase of 15% compared to last April. After deducting government-subsidized transactions ("price per occupant"), the number of transactions in May was 11.3 thousand, an increase of 45% compared to May 2019 and an increase of 18% compared to the previous month. The total number of transactions in second-hand apartments in May was 8,000, an increase of 39% compared to May 2019 and an increase of 18% compared to the previous month.
Operation Guardian does not stop real estate investors: Investor activity in the real estate market in recent months is one of the highest in the real estate market in the last two decades. The data show that investors are very active in both buying and selling apartments, all at Although it continues to maintain a record level, this is despite the fact that between May 10-20, Operation Wall Guard took place in Gaza, which also included intensive rocket fire into the southern, Jerusalem and central areas of the country. as usual.
Leading the increase in transactions in May, similar to previous months, were investors, who purchased 2,500 apartments, about 20% of the total market, an increase of 117% compared to May 2019 and of 27% compared to April this year. The rate of investor purchases out of the total number of transactions was 20%, an increase of 9 percentage points compared to May last year, before the purchase tax was reduced.
The chief economist further notes that since the purchase tax was reduced at the end of July last year, investors have purchased about 21,000 apartments in the last ten months alone (August 2020-May 2021). "This is the highest amount of total investor acquisitions in any of the years 2020-2017. At the current rate of investor acquisitions, which has accelerated further since the beginning of the year, 2021 may register one of the highest levels of investor acquisitions in at least 20 years," she warns.