New home sales up 17% in April

New home sales rose 17% in April 2012, compared with March, snapping a three-month slump, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. New home sales rose to 1,868 homes in April from 1,438 in March, despite the Passover holiday. New home sales were unchanged compared with April 2011.

The largest increase in new home sales in April was in the Tel Aviv District, where they doubled from March to 291 homes. New home sales rose 77% in the Jerusalem District, 17% in the Northern District, and 11% in the Southern District. New home sales were unchanged at 660 homes in the Central District, and fell by 20% in the Haifa District. 74% of new home sales in January-April were in the Central District. New home sales in the Tel Aviv District were down 29% in January-April compared with the corresponding months, and fell 16% in the Haifa District, but rose 42% in the Jerusalem District.

Demand for new homes rose 15% in April, compared with March, to 3,014 homes, but was down 6% compared with April last year. The housing inventory rose 35% in April to 20,653 homes. 45% of the inventory is in the Central District, and 4% is in the Northern District. The housing inventory is sufficient for 13 months at the average rate of sales over the preceding three months.

Source Globes