Central Bureau of Statistics: New Home Starts Fell 15% in the First Quarter

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said permits were issued for about 82,570 apartments in the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026, up 1.2% from the previous 12-month period. In the first quarter of 2026, permits were issued for about 19,000 apartments, a 10.2% increase from the first quarter of 2025.

The report showed sharp regional differences. The Center District accounted for 25.5% of all permits, Tel Aviv for 23.1% and the South for 16.1%. Compared with the previous period, permit issuance rose 19.6% in the Center and 4.9% in Tel Aviv, but fell 14.7% in the North, 11.8% in Jerusalem and 10.1% in the South. No urban renewal permits were issued in the North.

Despite a yearly increase in starts, housing construction slowed in quarterly terms. Construction began on about 76,470 apartments in the past year, up 1.7%, but only about 18,900 started in January to March 2026, down 14.7% year on year. Net starts also fell 14.8% to 17,500 units. Of the homes that began construction, 92.4% were additional units for the housing stock, and 69% were built for sale, including 6,530 units subsidized under the government’s Dira BeHanacha program.

About 17,820 units began as demolish and rebuild projects, most of them in Tel Aviv and the Center District, and 14,910 of those were under Tama 38/2 or eviction-replacement schemes. Another 5,140 units were added to existing buildings, nearly half of them under Tama 38. The leading cities for starts were Tel Aviv-Yafo with 7,120 units, Jerusalem with 6,080, Lod with 2,730, Netanya with 2,600 and Kiryat Gat with 2,590.

Completions rose as well, with about 62,140 apartments finished in the last 12 months, up 15.7%, and 14,600 completed in January to March 2026, up 17.4%. The average construction time for a building was 32.1 months, while the weighted average by unit count was 37.5 months. At the end of September 2025, about 211,710 apartments were under active construction, and the first-quarter figure was about 211,700, up 7.3% from a year earlier.