The most sought-after product in the Israeli real estate market, at least for the past two and a half decades, has been 4-room apartments. Smaller - only 3 rooms.
According to an analysis of data on construction starts of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), of the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, in the first half of the year the proportion of 4-room apartments that began construction was 37.8% of all construction starts during this period. From 44.6%.
In general, the average rate of 4-room apartments of all construction starts was about 40% from 1995 until recently.
In numerical terms, less than 10,000 four-room apartments began to be built in the first two quarters of the year, and if the trend continues like this until the end of the year, there will be a decrease of almost 20% compared to the previous year.
On the other hand, the rate of construction starts of three-room apartments jumped in the first half of the year to about 16% - from a rate of 11% in the previous year and compared to an average rate of about 10% in the last two decades.
In the first half of the year, about 4,100 3-room apartments began to be built, compared to 6,150 in all of 2020, a 33% increase assuming that this rate will continue until the end of the current year.
Chairman of the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, Haim Mesilati, explained that “the trend of construction starts in the data of the first half mainly reflects the changes that the Corona has brought to the housing market.
On the one hand, more large apartments began to be built, especially in peripheral cities, because housing developers have since the Corona started looking for larger apartments that would suit a long stay at home.
On the other hand, more small 3-room apartments began to be built, mostly in Tel Aviv and the Central District, a fact that reflects the increase in the weight of investors in the local housing market only in the last year. "
Mesilati // Photo: Dana Kopel,
According to Sophie Srugo Yochelman, co-CEO of Srugo, which is building and marketing together with the Hamerman plant a project of 180 apartments on the national park in Ramat Gan: "Today, following the corona, buyers are looking for more spacious apartments.
Buyers also want a work area at home.
In my opinion, this is not a transient phenomenon, and the demand for large and spacious apartments will continue and will even affect the planning of future projects, which will include more spacious apartments. "
Shimon Ginny, CEO of Golden Art, which built and markets the "Quarter Project" in Haifa, which also includes small apartments as part of the mix, believes that "the proportion of small apartments on the market should be further increased, because they are a housing solution that serves a variety Wide populations looking for quality housing solutions. "
