The Official Guide
Tax changes for the Israeli real estate market in 2011
Posted on 11. Jan, 2011 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
Israel is in the process of enacting a number of tax changes for 2011 in an effort to cool down spiraling Israel real estate prices and boost the supply of housing in the country. Some of the tax changes, which have come into effect from January 1 this year, will make it more expensive for investors to buy property in Israel, and others are intended to accelerate the sale of apartments and encourage new construction. Most of the tax changes are still in the process of a legislative procedure but are expected to be applied retroactively from January 1, 2011.
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Bank of Israel raises cost of large mortgages
Posted on 31. Oct, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
The Bank of Israel this week announced new measures to tighten the conditions of mortgages granted at floating interest rates, which will make large loans of more than NIS 800,00 more expensive. The new directives for the banks were formulated to moderate the persistent increase in property prices over the past few years and the growth in housing credit that exceed increases in average household income. Since August last year to this August house prices have risen by an average of 19 percent and interest rates have been at a record low.
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28% of homebuyers unveil defects in purchased homes
Posted on 12. Sep, 2010 by DebbieG.
Only a third of home-buyers of second-hand homes in Israel are having professional checks done before purchasing a home, according to a survey conducted by Nest Value. The survey revealed that 28 percent of buyers of second-hand homes in Israel when moving into the home discovered problems and defects in the home that they did not know and were found only after signing a purchase agreement. About 90 percent of the unveiled problems are related to construction and building defects in need of repairing and 10 percent are related to problems of environment.
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Professional real estate appraisal services
Posted on 06. Sep, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
Buying, or selling a property or investing in real estate in Israel is a complex process, which requires an understanding of the Israeli real estate market and familiarity with laws, taxes and government regulations in Israel. Before entering into any real estate transaction in Israel, it is recommended to engage in comprehensive checks in an effort to unveil the characteristics of the property, uncover unanticipated “surprises” and eliminate potential dangers, while thereby averting hidden costs.
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New home prices fall by 0.9% in June
Posted on 01. Aug, 2010 by buyitinisrael.
The trend of a decline in prices of new homes reported from the beginning of the year continued in June, according to an economic report by Israel’s Finance Ministry. The median price of new homes dropped by 0.9 percent in June. A geographical comparison found that the decline encompassed most areas around the country apart from Haifa and Rehovot. The area which saw a sharp fall in Israel real estate prices in June was Beersheva.
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Effect of August interest rate hike on prime loan mortgages
Posted on 29. Jul, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
For the first time in four months the Bank of Israel this week raised interest rates for August by a quarter percentage point from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent in a move to cool Israel real estate prices which are feared to develop into a bubble. Over the past year prices in the Israel housing market have risen over 20 percent and the Bank of Israel warned recently that if they continue to rise at this pace a bubble will develop.
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Homebuyers’ confidence in Israeli construction companies returns
Posted on 27. Jul, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
More Israel real estate buyers are again purchasing apartments and houses from contractors following the changes in the Israeli Sales Law, which seeks to protect the interests of new apartment buyers. In 2009 and over the course of the first five months of 2010, there is a rising trend in the rate of new apartments bought from contractors compared with 2008, according to a survey by the Contractors’ Association.
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Interest rates in Israel – a look at historical and current data
Posted on 18. Jul, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
In Israel, the rate of interest is announced by the Bank of Israel at the end of every month. These announcements have been made since 1991, and provide the commercial banks with a benchmark for their rates on local-currency unindexed deposits and credit. This rate also affects the banks’ prime rates. In the last few years prime interest has been about one and a half percentage points higher than the interest rate announced by the Bank of Israel. Prime rates are particularly important to mortgages linked to the prime interest rate. A mortgage linked to the prime interest rate based on the Bank of Israel rate is usually taken out for a period of up to 25 years.
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The cost of bureaucracy in Israel
Posted on 15. Jul, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
The bulk of bureaucracy involved in the process of issuing permits in the new construction sector makes up nearly six percent of the purchase price of a real estate in Israel, according to a study by the Israeli Contractors Association. Bureaucratic processes and delays in the approval of construction permits with which a contractor has to deal with, generates an additional cost of NIS 90,000 for the individual buyer to the price of an average four-room apartment at NIS 1,500,000.
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Understanding the Madad – Consumer Price Index
Posted on 14. Jul, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff.
The Madad, which is the Hebrew for Consumer Price Index (CPI) or rate of inflation, is followed very closely by Israelis since movements in the monthly index affect nearly every aspect in life from salaries, mortgages, housing, transportation costs or prices of fruit and vegetables, and other expenses. In brief, a number of very important income and other expense items of every household are linked fully or partially to monthly or quarterly inflation.
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Bank of Israel warns on mortgage risk
Posted on 14. Jul, 2010 by buyitinisrael.
The Bank of Israel today warned about the possible effects of interest rate hikes on the mortgage market and about possible consequences of a substantial fall in home prices. The warning appear in excerpts from the “Annual Survey of Israel’s Banking System, 2009″, which focuses on stress tests for banks. Read the full article on Globes [...]
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