Real estate sales in Israel fell 15% year-on-year in December 2023 (Reuters)
Chief Economist at the Israeli Ministry of Finance, Shmuel Abramson, said that the war on Gaza, coupled with high interest rates, made 2023 one of the worst years ever for the country's real estate sector.
Despite the slight recovery caused by the special offers presented by real estate developers in the closing days of last December, it did not change the gloomy picture, according to the specialized Israeli newspaper Globes.
The last quarter of 2023 was the worst quarter for housing sales during the past 22 years, while 2023 was described as the worst for sales during the past 20 years, according to a survey conducted by the chief economist at the Ministry of Finance.
December 2023 sales decreased by about 15% compared to the same month in 2022.
According to data for the fourth quarter of 2023, 12,500 transactions were completed, which is the lowest quarterly number since Shmuel Abramson began reviewing the residential real estate market in the early 2000s.
Globes newspaper estimated that the Gaza war led to a decrease in the volume of transactions in the residential market by 33%, while the rise in interest rates contributed to a decrease in the volume of these transactions by about 40%.
A report by the Israeli Ministry of Housing, in the last third of last December, revealed a 15% decline in new construction operations, indicating a stagnation in the real estate market that has put pressure on both supply and demand.
Source: Israeli press