April home sales hit a low: Hi-tech workers are no longer buying in Tel Aviv, resale sales plunge 59%

The housing market continues to operate under a heavy cloud of difficult sales conditions, with another decline in home sales in April 2026. A review by the chief economist at the Ministry of Finance shows that a total of 5,081 homes, both second-hand and new, were purchased in April, down 19% from April 2025 and 31% from the previous month, March. In the first week of April, Israel was still in the war of Roar of the Lion, but that was also the week of Passover. Sharp declines were also recorded compared with March, which was entirely under the war. Even so, according to the Finance Ministry data, this was an especially low monthly sales volume for April since the 2000s. Only four times have lower sales been recorded in this month.

Contractor sales in April totaled 2,107 homes, including government-subsidized units, such as Price for the Householder and Apartment at a Discount, down 11% from April 2025 and 25% from the previous month. Excluding subsidized sales, contractor sales in the free market totaled 1,366 homes in April, down 12% from April 2025 and a sharp 37% from the previous month. A geographic breakdown of contractor sales in the free market showed sharp declines in the Beersheba, Central and Rehovot regions, with drops of 30% to 45%. By contrast, the Tel Aviv area saw a sharp increase in contractor sales in the free market, which totaled 314 homes. According to the Finance Ministry, this increase was influenced in part by the exercise of options in one project in Tel Aviv.

Alongside the new housing market, it appears that for the first time in a long period, the second-hand housing market is suffering even more than the new housing market. A total of 2,974 homes were sold in April, down 24% from April last year and 35% from the previous month. The decline in second-hand purchases is especially notable in the Tel Aviv area, and particularly in Tel Aviv itself. In April 2026, only 86 second-hand homes were purchased in the city, a sharp 59% decline from April last year. In the first four months of 2026, purchases in Tel Aviv fell 34% compared with the same period in 2025. This is the steepest decline compared with the national picture, where the average drop was only 6%.

The review finds a connection between the decline in second-hand home purchases in Tel Aviv and the prevalence of hi-tech employees among buyers. According to the review, the share of purchases by hi-tech workers fell from 26% in April 2025 to only 11% in April this year. It was also found that the annual salary levels of buyers in April last year were significantly lower than those who bought in April this year, 540,000 shekels versus 900,000 shekels. The review also shows that over several months, it is clear that most of the apartment buyers in Tel Aviv, about two-thirds, live in the city.

Investor purchases in April totaled 751 homes, down 12% from April 2025 and sharply down 43% from the previous month. As a share of all transactions, investors accounted for 15%, three percentage points lower than the previous month and with no significant change compared with April last year. Investor sales in April totaled 922 homes, down 28% from the same period last year and also from the previous month. Foreign residents also did not save the sector, and their number fell in April to just 77 homes, compared with 106 homes in April last year and 177 homes in March 2026.

Another sign of buyers' concerns can be seen in the decline in upgrader purchases. In April, they bought 1,266 homes, a sharp 34% decline from April last year and 44% down from the previous month. This decline was especially pronounced in Beersheba, at 40%, while Tel Aviv saw a slight decline of about 2%. The share of upgrader purchases out of total transactions was 3 percentage points lower than in the previous month.

First-time buyer purchases in the free market totaled 3,064 homes, including subsidized units, down 12% from April 2025 and 20% from the previous month. Excluding subsidized purchases, this segment totaled 2,323 homes, down 12% from April last year and 28% from the previous month. Alongside the decline in sales, there was also a decline in the volume of financing benefits. In April, the share of transactions in which a financing benefit was reported stood at 21% of all contractor sales in the free market, in the five regions examined by the Finance Ministry, in transactions with delivery at least one year from the signing date. This rate is 2% lower than the previous month, but compared with April 2025 it is a sharp decline of 17%. The Central region continues to stand out with a relatively high rate of financing benefits, 35%.