1 in 3 apartments bought as investment

One out of three apartments purchased during the second quarter of 2009 were bought for the purpose of investment as record low interest rates and volatile stock markets prompted investors to switch course, the Israeli Finance Ministry reported .
The percentage of apartments bought for investment reached a record following years of continued growth since 2002, when the rate stood at 22 %. In the second quarter of the year, 33 % of all purchased apartments were bought by investors," said the Finance Ministry.

Housing prices continue to rise

The Central Bureau of Statistics in Israel's(CBS) data shows that since the beginning of the year home prices have jumped 15%.
Home prices rose 2.2% in October. This followed a rise of 1.5% in September, and 2.4% in August.
CBS data shows that since the beginning of the year home prices have jumped 15%. Since May of 2007, when a trend of prices rises began, home prices have risen 32.2%.

Update on prices in Ramat Bet Shemesh A

4 room apartments in RBS have already passed the NIS 900,000 mark and are now selling in the range of NIS930K-NIS960K
3 room apartments are selling for NIS 800k to NIS 830K whilst 5 rooms go for NIS1,300K to NIS 1,350k, an increase of 10 to 12% over 2008.
In the Sheinfeld neighbourhood prices tend to be similar to that of RBS A , except for the older buildings (about 20 years of age) there prices can be 5 to 10% less
In the old Bet Shemesh, prices rose over the las 2 years by about 35%, today a 3 room apt can be had for around half a million Shekalim (2 years ago the same
apartment was sold for NIS 370,000)