RE / MAX CEO Bernard Raskin told Israel Today: "During the epidemic, the government was busy in Corona and did not intervene in the real estate market - which is one of the reasons for its recovery" • "It is a mistake to think that prices are falling well for the market"
"One of the reasons that 2020 was better than its predecessor in the real estate market is the fact that the government was busy in Corona and did not intervene in the market," Bernard Raskin, CEO of the RE / MAX real estate chain, told Israel Today.
RE / MAX held a press conference yesterday to summarize the year, for the first time virtually.
“The corona effect could be seen this year mainly in a dramatic price increase in apartments with open spaces like ground floor and penthouses,” Raskin said.
According to him, "the Israeli government has learned to understand that the flight of investors abroad and the flow of billions of shekels a year to foreign countries is damage to the Israeli economy.
That is why the government did well to lower the purchase tax for investors.
The return of investors to the market will encourage developers to build more, and will also provide solutions for the rental market, which suffers from a shortage of supply. "
Raskin clarified that "it is a mistake to think that prices are falling well for the market. Contractors do not build apartments when they think prices will fall, and people do not buy apartments in a falling market; in such a market it is better to wait for the end of declines before buying."
RE / MAX data show that there are about 22,000 brokers in Israel.
Raskin: "I am proud that according to a study by the Shilub Institute, 1,250 RE / MAX agents and franchisees, who constitute 5.5% of all realtors in the country, make 23.4% of all real estate transactions in Israel.
This is a tremendous achievement that testifies to the network's professionalism. "
The data show that the value of the assets successfully handled by RE / MAX Israel in 2020 amounted to NIS 10.893 billion.
According to the company, the slowdown was felt only in the first three months of the crisis, but from July began a rapid recovery that led to the best quarter the network has known.
The market will go up
RE / MAX's transaction data largely reflect what has been happening in the market since the outbreak of the crisis.
In March, the real estate market suffered a blow, and the transaction rate in the company decreased by 24% compared to the previous year; in April the transaction rate fell by 55% compared to the same month last year, and in May and June the transaction rate was 34% and 20% , Respectively.
But already in July, there was an increase in the number of transactions by a few percent, which reached a jump of 35% per month in October and November, compared to 2019.
In the rental market, there was an increase every month, except for a decrease of 32% in April.
Raskin was not surprised by the data and even showed at the press conference an article published after last year's press conference in "Israel Today", in which the forecast for the expected rise in prices and an increase in the number of transactions was explained.
Raskin presented data on construction starts, which show that last year only 36,000 housing units began to be built, compared to an average of 50,000 construction starts in the previous four years, which also claimed that construction did not meet the needs of about 60,000 new young couples a year.
Another figure that supports the company's expectations of a further rise in prices is a survey presented, which shows that 45% of respondents intend to purchase an apartment in the next two years, compared to 28% of respondents who stated their intention to sell an apartment in the next two years.
In other words - the more active, second-hand housing market is also expected to be a market that will support an increase in demand and prices.
Raskin presented examples of price changes, as expressed in the data of RE / MAX transactions, which show, among other things, that in North Tel Aviv, 3-room apartments have risen in price by 3%;
In the east of the city, 4-room apartments without parking and an elevator went up by 5.7%, and similar apartments with parking and an elevator went up by 9.3%.
In some segments in Jerusalem, very significant price increases were presented.
