The value of new mortgage loans taken in September 2022 was NIS 7.7 billion, according to data from the Bank of Israel, down from NIS 9.64 billion in August and the lowest figure since September 2021. Last year all the holidays were in September, while this year only Rosh Hashana fell last month, indicating a bigger fall than reflected by the numbers, as rising interest rates begin to be felt. A fall in mortgage taking is one of the first signs that the real estate market is cooling.
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Even so NIS 7.7 billion would have been considered a relatively high figure until the past few years. Before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020, mortgage taking in Israel averaged between NIS 5 billion and NIS 7 billion per month. Over the past few years mortgage taking had been steadily rising, reaching a record NIS 13 billion in March 2022, the month before interest rates began to rise.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on October 19, 2022.
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