Celebrities earning 60,000 shekels cancel deals: Dramatic data from the Ministry of Finance
Behind the wave of deal cancellations, the Ministry of Finance has identified a concerning trend: wealthy individuals, including celebrities, are purchasing apartments from contractors and canceling contracts without facing penalties. Experts point to aggressive developer financing campaigns as the primary driver.
The wave of deal cancellations announced by the Ministry of Finance in recent weeks comes against the backdrop of an increase in contractor sales in recent months. There is no direct connection between these events: the wave of cancellations is based on deals made in previous years, reflecting the sentiment of a period when contractors offered financing benefits to anyone who asked, sometimes without a down payment.
The Ministry of Finance investigated the income levels of those canceling deals to determine if the trend was limited to low-income earners. The analysis revealed that it is precisely buyers of apartments in the periphery, such as Be'er Sheva or Tiberias, who are canceling their deals.
The examination began in the southern region, where nearly 500 cancellations for economic reasons had accumulated over three years. The study focused on individuals with regular income. Surprisingly, this accounted for 90% of those who canceled, while 10% had no regular income at all.
The findings showed that about 20% of those who canceled have an average monthly household income of 60,000 shekels gross. Among them were even very well-known figures. Notably, the average price of the apartment whose purchase they canceled stood at 1.7 million shekels. Despite their high salaries, they were purchasing relatively cheap apartments, apparently for investment purposes. The Ministry of Finance suggests this indicates a desire to enter deals without commitment, taking advantage of developers who do not intend to charge cancellation fees.
It was also found that 40% of those who canceled for economic reasons have a household income not exceeding 12,000 shekels gross. The Ministry of Finance blames the contractors' financing campaigns.
Galit Ben Naim, Deputy Chief Economist, summarizes:
"The immediate suspect is the contractors' campaigns. Since the duty to report these benefits to the Tax Authority began only at the end of 2024, and most cancellations until now are from 2023–2024, there is not yet a 'smoking gun' against this suspect. At least until we can apply artificial intelligence tools to the sales contracts themselves. Either way, the Bank of Israel did well when it imposed restrictions on financing benefits in March 2025. Sometimes, when the risk is high, one can settle for circumstantial evidence."
