Jerusalem Leads Second-Hand Home Sales as New-Home Market Stays Weak

Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa led Israel’s housing market in February to April 2026, even as overall activity remained subdued. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the pace of new construction starts has fallen to match the market’s slower sales rate, while the stock of unsold homes was almost unchanged over the past five months, edging down from about 86,000 units at the end of last year to 84,000 at the end of April.

A total of 20,610 new and second-hand homes were sold in February to April, about 15% less than in November 2025 to January 2026 and 11% below the same period a year earlier. The data undercuts the argument that Passover in April alone caused the decline, since sales were also lower than in the comparable period last year, indicating a broader market slowdown.

Jerusalem topped the second-hand market with 868 resale homes sold, and was also the overall leader once new homes are included, with 1,363 transactions in total. Tel Aviv followed with 877 sales of new apartments and 1,333 total transactions. Haifa sold 1,087 homes altogether, including 805 second-hand units, placing it second in that segment.

Among other standouts, Kiryat Gat sold 393 new homes, Netanya 388 and Ashkelon 367. On the resale side, Beersheba recorded 576 transactions, Ashkelon 454 and Petah Tikva 409. The unsold inventory of new apartments stood at about 84,000 at the end of April, and the data suggest developers have slowed construction starts significantly, even though direct start figures have not yet been published. In the inventory ranking, Jerusalem led with 10,133 unsold new units, followed by Tel Aviv with 9,960, Bat Yam with 4,891 and Haifa with 4,455.