A 16% decline in home sales is reported in Israel during the first quarter of 2009. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics report, 2,959 homes were purchased on the private market, representing a significant decline from the same time a year earlier.
 
Feeling the sales slump the hardest is Petach Tikvah, in which 298 homes were sold compared to 364 in 2008. Trailing in second place is Yerushalayim followed by Netanya, Rechovot, and Tel Aviv. The sharpest drop was seen throughout Yehuda and Shomron, where home sales dropped 31% as compared to 2008.
 
Interestingly, Haifa reports a 14% increase as compared to the first quarter of 2008.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)