That represents more than 20% higher than May's total, which was itself a record, and is nearly twice as much as was borrowed in February 2020, on the eve of the pandemic.
Real estate prices have already risen an average of 5.6% in the past year, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Israel’s new government has listed lowering housing costs and increasing affordable housing options among its key goals for the coalition.
Analysts believe that a lack of supply in the housing market is the main cause of the problem. New lands for building are not being made available in an efficient or transparent fashion by the Israel Land Authority (ILA), and despite the pressing national need for increased building, the number of new housing starts has actually declined each year since 2016.
Last week. Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said Israel should look to convert tens of millions of square meters of unused office space into residences, in order to create new housing options.