Are Real Estate Prices in Israel About to Drop? | Where is the Israeli Housing Market Going?

With the continuous rise in real estate prices in Israel over the past few years, many have begged to ask the question, “when will they fall?”. Those of us in the business get this question almost daily, with each of us giving a different perspective, depending on which market we’re catering to. My take? There are simply less apartment and homes sales being done here in my market in Tel Aviv, though that’s not to say that the prices have been lowering, and for us lucky brokers who have been able to seal deals, business has been good.

But from the facts on the ground and the life of living and breathing the housing market here in Israel, I simply don’t think the market can sustain the prices to go up (here in Tel Aviv the average for an apartment with a balcony, elevator, and parking spot floats around the 30-32k NIS per meter). What goes up, simply must come down, which is the only place I see apartment prices here in Tel Aviv going. A Deloitte survey came up this week, which surveyed a number of leading real estate professionals in Israel, a third of which predicted a drop from 7-10% in the coming months. Food for thought…

My advice: Unless you walk into your dream home or find a wonderful investment, and you simply MUST HAVE IT, than you should most definitely wait.