After the housing price index recorded a high monthly jump, and after the CBS pointed to record levels in apartment purchases, the chief economist at the Treasury also arrived and confirmed the preliminary estimates: November 2021 recorded a historic monthly record in apartment purchases, when 18.2 thousand apartments were purchased. Of all market components on free-market dwellings, and especially of investors.However, young couples and housing developers also recorded free-market purchases.
As mentioned, the most prominent sector is investors. These behaved exactly as they did in June 2015, when Moshe Kahlon announced an increase in the purchase tax, and flocked to the market to purchase apartments before the new tax entered. The result then was that 7.5 thousand investors bought apartments that month, compared to 6.7 thousand that month. However, unlike then, when investors focused all their purchases in June, the current wave of purchases lasted about 5 weeks and began at the end of October, during which about 12,000 apartments were purchased, so that in total it was higher than its predecessor.
Where did the investors want to go? Tel Aviv is the first focus, and in November it purchased almost one-eighth of all investment apartments purchased that month – 800 apartments; It is followed by Jerusalem (520 apartments), Haifa (380 apartments), Beer Sheva (270), Bat Yam (260), Ramat Gan (250), Ashkelon (240) and Netanya (230). Regarding Bat Yam – recently a sales campaign for members of “Hever” of a large urban renewal project ended there and it focused a large part of the interest of investors on it.
On the other hand, investors continued to get rid of apartments, and in November they sold about 3.9 thousand apartments. For the first time since 2016, the stock of apartments held by investors increased last year by 5.8 thousand apartments, but the monthly record of 18.2 thousand apartments (compared to the previous record in June 2015, which reached 16.1 thousand apartments) would not have been broken, unless young couples and housing improvers Of buying apartments.
A 23% jump in purchases by young couples
The young couples own 6.1 thousand apartments, of which 4.9 thousand are in the free market and 1.2 thousand in the price per occupant. The chief economist wrote that this is “the highest level in these purchases at least since the beginning of the previous decade.” An increase of 23% compared to November 2020.
In the peripheral areas, even higher growth was found. “For example, in the Beer Sheva area, the purchases of young couples in the free market in November were 800 apartments, a level 26% higher than in June 2015.” In the northern Sharon region (which includes Hadera, Or Akiva and Harish) and the Lower Galilee (which includes the Galilee and Afula), the gap is even greater; In contrast, in the central region, the purchases of young couples in the free market in November amounted to 610 apartments, 29% lower than the peak recorded in June 2015.
Housing improvers also joined the celebration. Purchases of housing improvers in November amounted to 5.4 thousand apartments, the highest level at least since the beginning of the previous decade. Compared to November 2020 this is an increase of 34%, and an increase of 18% compared to the previous month. In the geographical segmentation, the Beer Sheva area stands out with an unusual increase of 73% compared to November 2020, following the sharp growth rates in these purchases (above the national average) in this area since last July. On the other hand, the most moderate growth rate was recorded in the Rehovot area (an increase of 15%), the most dominant area in housing improvement purchases (in November and in general).