Housing Starts Rise, but Construction Times Stretch Further

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said housing construction picked up over the past year, but projects also took longer to finish. In the 12 months ending March 2026, permits were issued for about 82,570 apartments, up 1.2% from the previous year, and construction began on about 76,470 apartments, up 1.7%.

Most permits were concentrated in Central District, Tel Aviv District, and the Southern District, which accounted for 25.5%, 23.1%, and 16.1% of the total, respectively. Compared with the previous 12 months, permits rose 19.6% in Central District and 4.9% in Tel Aviv District, but fell 14.7% in the North, 11.8% in Jerusalem, and 10.1% in the South. Net housing starts, excluding units demolished, totaled about 70,680 apartments, after about 5,790 existing units were torn down.

In the first quarter of 2026, housing starts fell 14.7%, while completions rose 17.4%. Urban renewal remained significant, with about 17,820 apartments starting in projects that replaced an existing building with a new one. Of those, 48.7% were in Tel Aviv District and 29.6% in Central District, and 83.7%, or 14,910 apartments, were built under Tama 38/2 and eviction-reconstruction plans. Another 5,140 apartments began as additions to existing buildings.

At the city level, Tel Aviv saw a sharp 23% rise in starts over the past 12 months, while Jerusalem saw a 25.4% decline. The biggest volumes were in Tel Aviv, 7,120 apartments, Jerusalem, 6,080, Lod, 2,730, Netanya, 2,600, and Kiryat Gat, 2,590. For completions, 62,140 apartments were finished in the 12 months from July 2024 to June 2025, up 15.7%, with declines only in the North, where completions fell 3.6%.

Despite more foreign workers, average construction time for a building reached 32.1 months, up from 30.2 months, and the weighted average by apartment count rose to 37.5 months from 35.4 months. As of the end of September 2025, about 211,710 apartments were under active construction.