New and second-hand home sales rose 8% in December to 7,400 from 6,848 in November.
By EINAT PAZ-FRANKEL/GLOBESHadera 311(photo credit: Leon Stern/Buy Property In Israel)
Home sales fell 17 percent in 2011 compared with 2010, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday in its Red Lights macroeconomic survey. However, new and second-hand home sales rose 8% in December to 7,400 from 6,848 in November.The Finance Ministry attributed the growth in home sales in December to a sharp increase in sales in the periphery, especially in Hadera, where sales doubled.December home sales were down 27% compared with December 2010. There were 46% fewer new-home sales in December than in the corresponding month and 18% fewer second-hand home sales.Meanwhile, the Construction and Housing Ministry reported Wednesday a 14% drop in tenders for public housing in January, to 459 apartments, compared with January 2011. Tenders were 65% higher than in December.The Finance Ministry reported a 41% drop in the number of apartments bought for investment in December compared with the corresponding month. Purchases of apartments for investment accounted for 26% of all purchases in December, down from 33% in the corresponding month.The Finance Ministry said the median price of new apartments fell 1% to NIS 889,000 in December from NIS 898,000 in November. The median price was still 13.5% higher than in December 2010.
