Fewer Luxury Home Deals in Israel, But Price per Square Meter Hits a Record
Israel’s luxury residential market has recently returned to the headlines with several blockbuster deals, including penthouses sold for tens of millions of shekels. In Tel Aviv, We Box, developer of the Gat Rimon tower, sold a penthouse to a French businessman for about NIS 55 million. In the Shprinzak project, the Yitzhaki-Hason group sold a duplex penthouse to a tech entrepreneur for about NIS 32 million. In the Moza project in the city’s north, The Phoenix and America Israel sold a penthouse for about NIS 23 million to a family active in real estate and infrastructure. Those transactions have not yet been reported to the Tax Authority.
A review prepared for Mamon and ynet by the Israel Land Appraisers Association, covering luxury transactions above NIS 15 million reported in the first quarter of 2026, found that the 10 most expensive homes sold in Israel during the period were all priced below about NIS 28 million. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem dominated almost completely. The most expensive deal was a NIS 27.785 million apartment in Tel Aviv’s Sde Dov district, on the 43rd floor of a 44-story building, measuring 255 square meters, in Hagag Group’s First project, which includes 350 units and is scheduled for 2034. The second was a NIS 25.418 million penthouse on Shmuel HaNagid Street 18 in Jerusalem, part of a small six-unit urban renewal project due in 2029. The third was another Sde Dov apartment, sold for NIS 25.402 million in a 45-story, 340-unit project by Luzon Ronson.
The rest of the top 10 included two garden apartments in Tel Aviv’s District 4, on Bodaheimer Street 33 and Fishman Street 12, a garden apartment on Shmuel HaNagid Street in Jerusalem, an apartment in Jerusalem’s Meshkenot HaTeatron project on Chopin Street, a garden apartment on Haavoda Street in Tel Aviv’s District 5, an apartment on Shomrei Emunim Street in Jerusalem, and a penthouse on Hankin Street 3 in Tel Aviv. Most of the deals were for very large apartments, penthouses or garden units in new buildings that had not yet been occupied.
Despite those eye-catching sales, the report found that luxury activity slowed sharply in the first quarter of 2026. Only 20 transactions above NIS 15 million were recorded, the lowest number in four years. The average deal price fell to about NIS 18.3 million, down from NIS 21.4 million in the first quarter of 2025 and NIS 21.5 million in 2024. At the same time, the average price per square meter jumped to a record NIS 87,300, up 22.4% year on year.
The appraisers said the shift reflects a change in the mix of homes being bought, with fewer large villas and cottages, especially in Herzliya and Caesarea, and more relatively smaller luxury apartments in prime Tel Aviv and Jerusalem locations. Association chair Nahamah Bogen Nir Sheherbani said buyers are increasingly willing to pay high sums years in advance, sometimes before construction has even started, because of location, design and perceived uniqueness. Developers and market participants interviewed in the article said demand remains strong, especially for ultra-luxury homes, and that competition among projects in areas such as District 4 and Sde Dov is creating opportunities for buyers. They also pointed to continued interest from foreign residents and prospective immigrants, and said later-quarter deals suggest the sector remains on an upward trend.
