Kiryat Gat Leads New Home Sales as Israel's Housing Market Remains Sluggish
CBS data for June-August 2026 shows a rise in new apartment sales, led by Kiryat Gat, while the broader housing market remains in a deep slump with 86,000 unsold units.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), June-August saw an increase in the number of apartments sold, driven primarily by new apartment sales, while the second-hand housing market continues to weaken. Kiryat Gat led new apartment sales during this period with 1,044 units sold, followed by Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Petah Tikva. In the second-hand market, Jerusalem took the lead, followed by Haifa and Beersheba.
Kiryat Gat Leads New Home Sales
Kiryat Gat emerged as the surprising leader in new apartment sales between June and August, likely due to a concentrated sale of subsidized units under the "Target Price" program. Tel Aviv ranked second with 878 new apartments sold, Haifa followed with 445 units, and Petah Tikva placed fourth with 424 apartments. Jerusalem surprisingly dropped to fifth place with 400 apartments sold, trailing behind its traditional rivalry with Tel Aviv in this category.
"Despite occasional monthly increases, the housing market remains in a deep slump, with transaction volumes about a third lower than the peak months of mid-2021." — Market Analysts
Growing Unsold Inventory
Overall, approximately 24,200 apartments were sold between June and August, marking an 11.1% increase compared to the previous three-month period (March-May 2026). However, the March-May figures were depressed due to the Passover holiday, and seasonally adjusted figures actually showed a 2.9% decline in transactions. Compared to the same period last year (June-August 2025), original and seasonally adjusted figures showed increases of 8.1% and 8.5%, respectively.
Nevertheless, the housing market remains mired in a deep slump. Transaction volumes are lower by about a third compared to the peak of mid-2021, mirroring the sluggish market conditions of 2017-2018. Although developers are gradually slowing construction rates, building starts still outpace sales, causing the inventory of unsold new apartments to swell. In August, approximately 86,000 new apartments remained unsold, enough to take developers over two years to clear at the current sales pace.
