Tel Aviv had the next highest number of transactions, growing to 1,813 in 2005, although the percentage of the total remained roughly the same at 28.4%.
By AVI KRAWITZ
The number of new dwellings sold in the private sector dropped 10 percent in the first half of 2005 from 2004 levels led by a decline in sales in Jerusalem, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said Sunday.
The CBS reported that from January through June of this year, 11,760 new apartments were sold, down from 12,568 apartments sold during the same period last year. Of those sold during the first half of 2005, 10,420 were still in various stages of construction while the remaining 1,340 were completed between March 2004 and June 2005.
The report showed that 33% of the sales, or 2,468 apartments, were made in the Central area of the country compared to 27.1% (2,002) in the same six months in 2004. Tel Aviv had the next highest number of transactions, growing to 1,813 in 2005, although the percentage of the total remained roughly the same at 28.4%. The only other increase was recorded in the Haifa region, which grew to 608 from 582 over the comparable six-month period while taking 12.1% of the pie this year.
Activity in Jerusalem, however, dropped from contributing 8.9% of the total in 2004 to 6% in 2005, or from 706 apartments sold last year to 467 this year.
In June alone, 1,060 new apartments were sold throughout the country, 940 of which were still under construction, according to the CBS. The remaining 120 were completed between March 2004 and June of this year.