Only in Israel: Interest in Buying Apartments in the Combat Zone Is Tens of Percent Higher Than Usual

Last December there was a sharp increase, compared with the previous year, in the number of apartment searches around Gaza and, on the other hand, a continued and pronounced drop in the level of interest in the southern cities of Gush Dan and in the northern periphery. This emerges from the analysis of apartment search volume on the Madlan website, which the "Real Estate Center" is carrying out for the second consecutive month in cooperation with the Madlan website.

While in the review conducted last month, of the November 2023 data, search data in almost all localities were dramatically lower compared with November 2022, in December the picture is different, and in dozens of localities the scope of searches returned to the normal range or close to it.

However, precisely in the area of the surrounding communities, a sharp increase in the scope of interest can be detected, both compared with November and compared with last year. The standout is the city of Sderot, where already in November we detected a "return to normal" with an almost normal level of interest. In December, the volume of apartment searches jumped to a level of almost 64% higher than in December of last year, and it is clear that investors continue to look for purchase opportunities in the city, which was hit only by a Hamas attack 3 months ago.

"It is quite surprising that interest in the southern cities has not declined but has increased considerably, compared with November and in some cases also compared with December of last year. The entry into a 'war routine' and the fact that no further interest rate increases are in sight have brought some certainty about the situation, and many want to see whether the situation will flood the market with opportunities. However, it is not certain that the rising levels of interest will also translate into transactions on the ground."

Examining what is happening in the country as a whole shows once again that the cities where the level of interest is highest compared with last year are also those located in areas that did not suffer gunfire or alerts during the fighting. It was in Arad that the sharpest increase occurred, at 76% compared with December of last year, and Sderot came second. The list also includes many cities located in the range between Netanya and Haifa, which is considered relatively protected, such as Migdal HaEmek (increase of 41%), Binyamina (29%), Pardes Hana Karkur (28%), Or Akiva (27%), Yokneam (26%) and Kadima Zoran (25%).

On the other side of the equation, for the cities where the level of interest is still below the norm, there has been a moderation in the rates of decline, but they remain high, and surprisingly the cities leading the rates of decline are precisely the cities of Gush Dan. Although the list is headed by Kiryat Shmona, with less than half the volume of arrivals compared with last December, Nahariya also stands out with a 31% drop in interest in apartments. But alongside them are Bat Yam (47%), Holon (42%), Or Yehuda (37%) and Rishon Letzion (34%).

Among the metropolitan cities, Tel Aviv (-2%) and Beer Sheva (-7%) returned to a level of interest close to normal. In Jerusalem, search volumes were 9% lower than in December of last year, and in Haifa search volumes were 30% lower, another sign that reflects negative sentiment toward the north of the country in the current period.
Tal Kopel, CEO of Madlan, said of the data that "surprisingly we see that interest in the southern cities has not declined but has increased considerably, compared with November and in some cases also with December of last year. The entry into a 'war routine' and the fact that no further interest rate increases are in sight have brought some certainty about the situation, and there is no doubt that many want to see whether the situation will flood the market with more and more opportunities."