Housing demand hits 13-year high

Demand for new homes rose to 4,180 units in August 2012, the highest level in 13 years, since December 1999, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today.New home sales hit a two-year high in August, at 2,282 sales, 20% higher than in July, and more than double the number of sales in August 2011.

An all-time record NIS 5.8 billion in new mortgages was taken in August 2012 according to the Bank of Israel. New homes sales in August were 44% higher in the southern district compared with July, 40% higher in Haifa and 31% higher in central Israel. Sales were unchanged in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and 27% lower in the northern district.

As a result of stronger sales of new apartments, new housing inventory has fallen 4% to 20,000 of which nearly 12,000 are in the center and Tel Aviv. At the current rate of sales the inventory will last 10 months.

Source Globes

Construction to finally start at David Promenade

Henry Taic has begun construction of the David Promenade Residences project on Tel Aviv's seafront, ten years after buying the land and years after Taic announced the project. The two building project is being built on an eight-dunam (two-acre) lot between Herbert Samuel Street, Hayarkon Street and Trumpeldor Street, right next to the Opera tower. Each building will have 26 floors; one building will have 60 apartments, and the other will be a hotel managed by Swiss chain Kempinski AG.

Royal Beach Hotel to finally open in March 2013

The Isrotel group announced today that its new Royal Beach luxury hotel located within the Sea One has started accepting bookings from May 1st onward. Prices start at $340 per room, breakfast included. The official opening is March 1st. The new hotel boasts 230 rooms and suites across the beach of Tel Aviv and was designed by German interior designer Harald Klein, who is a leading interior architect and who has extensive experience in designing some of the best hotels in the world. With 23 floors, the hotel will offer its hosts spacious rooms of various types, most of which with sea view, modern communication services, gourmet kosher food, an innovative bar, a large swimming pool overlooking the sea, a state of the art spa and a business lounge.

"I believe the new hotel will be a leader in Tel Aviv. I have no doubt that once opened, the values that will define the Royal Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv will be: quality, excellence and luxury" said Lior Raviv, the CEO of Isrotel.

Royal Beach Hotel Tel Aviv will part of the growing luxury segment of the Istrotel group that includes such hotels as Royal Beach Hotel Eilat, the Carmel Forest and the Genesis Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon.

Source Megafon

New signs of heating up in real estate market

Preliminary data indicate that, in line with its earlier estimates, new mortgages will amount to a new all-time high of NIS 6.3 billion in August 2012 - 70% more than the monthly average for the preceding 12 months, and 28% more than the previous record set in July. 42% of the new mortgages in August had high loan-to-value (LTV) in excess of 60%, about the same proportion as in July. The high amount of new mortgages is continuing in September. An estimated NIS 1.7 billion in new mortgages were granted during the first ten days of the month, giving a monthly rate of NIS 5 billion. Mortgage banks are reporting pressure from customers, and meetings are sometimes scheduled several weeks in advance, due to the workload. The amount of new mortgages in September will also be affected by Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, which will reduce the month's number of workdays by six. The large figure for August was also because homebuyers rushed to close deals before the VAT hike on September 1.