Although Jerusalem is the preferred location for 25 percent of the religious population buying homes, more than half of the buyers say area is not the decisive criteria for their choice.

Jerusalem's Wolfson Towers. Jerusalem remains the preferred residential location for much of the religious population.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

According to the first survey on house-buying habits conducted by Mishab, the leading construction company for the religious population in Israel, about 25% of the religious population chose Jerusalem as their preferred location, followed by the Petah Tikva area, which was chosen by 6%, Givat Shmuel by 4%, Bnei Brak and Ra'anana by 3% and Tel Aviv by 2%. For the remainder, which accounts over 50%, residential area was not the deciding issue when it comes to buying a property.

Rather, determining criteria for buying a property included religious environment (31%), infrastructures for religious community services (30%), property specifications such as a Succah balcony, Shabbat elevator and two sinks (12%) or the vicinity of the property to parents (7%).

When examining the residential areas in demand by the religious population, the survey showed there was nearly equal demand for buying a house in the area of Jerusalem with 28% or buying a house in the center area, which was demanded by 26%. The Jerusalem area was preferred by 30% between the ages of 18 and 24, while the center area was the choice spot for 37% of those between the ages of 45 and 64.

The main sources of financing of the religious population when buying a house were mortgages and loans (40%), followed by financial means from the sale of a previous house (14%), a combination of own capital and loans (7%), money from parents (5%), savings (2%) and inheritance (1%), the report showed.

Houses bought by the young religious population between the ages of 18 and 24 were financed 50% by mortgages and loans, but for those aged 45 to 54, mortgage and loans represented only 34% of the source of financing.

"Market research conducted by the company over recent years, however, showed that about 40% of the funding by young couples for buying a house came from parents or relatives," said Shmuel Birenboim, CEO of Mishab, which builds and constructs religious neighborhoods all around the country. "It seems, though, that not all of those participating in the survey were willing to admit to the fact."