Israeli Housing Prices Rose 36.7% Since 2020, Median Price Data Shows

Housing prices in Israel have seen a significant increase since the beginning of 2020, with the median price of apartments rising by 36.7% by 2026, according to data compiled by "Real Estate Transactions - People's Version," a website tracking approximately 3.8 million transactions. The median price for a standard apartment in 2020 was 1.295 million shekels, climbing to an estimated 1.77 million shekels by 2026. This figure, which excludes land, offices, and adjacent land properties, is considered a more reliable indicator for most Israelis than average prices.

While official data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) indicated a nearly 30% rise in housing prices in 2021-2022, followed by a slowdown in 2023 and 2025, and a rise in 2024, the median price trend suggests a different picture. The CBS data projects a slight decrease in prices for 2023, 2025, and 2026 combined, totaling a small percentage drop, but this is overshadowed by the 7.7% increase in 2024. The "Real Estate Transactions" data, however, shows a consistent upward trend in the median price, indicating that the dream of homeownership is becoming increasingly distant for many couples as wage growth has not kept pace.

Experts suggest that approximately 10% of current transactions involve financing benefits, a factor the CBS does not fully incorporate into its calculations, leading to potential discrepancies. Even if financing benefits are excluded, the overall impact on the market is considered minor. Despite the rise in median prices, the number of housing transactions has slowed considerably. In 2020, around 102,000 apartment purchases were made, with a similar number in 2025. However, only about 47,000 transactions were recorded by the end of July 2024. If this trend continues, the total for 2024 is expected to be around 80,000, a 20% decrease from previous years.

This slowdown in transactions, coupled with a rising median price, is a trend observed in cities like Tel Aviv, where the purchase of more expensive apartments has driven up the overall median. The "Real Estate Transactions" website, run by attorney Guy Zomer, is publicly accessible, while the Tax Authority recently introduced a login requirement for its real estate database, drawing criticism for its timing shortly after the launch of the new public website.