mortgages

Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron speaks during a press conference at the Bank of Israel in Jerusalem, on January 7, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Bank of Israel head urges lenders to pay fair interest on deposits, current accounts

Central bank chief instructs banks to fully pass on interest rates to deposit holders and come up with a plan to pay interest on the billions of shekels sitting in current accounts

June 20, 2023, 5:08 pm

Bank of Israel head urges lenders to pay fair interest on deposits, current accounts

Central bank chief instructs banks to fully pass on interest rates to deposit holders and come up with a plan to pay interest on the billions of shekels sitting in current accounts

By Sharon Wrobel

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) conference in Jerusalem, May 30, 2023. (Michal Fattal)

May 30, 2023, 7:54 pm

Smotrich seeks to tax banks’ fat profits from steady interest rate hikes

Bank of Israel head urges local banks to improve services by actively offering interest-bearing deposits to their customers; hints at further rate increases

By Sharon Wrobel

Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron speaks during a press conference at the Bank of Israel in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

May 22, 2023, 7:15 pm

As inflation persists, Bank of Israel hikes interest rates for 10th time, to 4.75%

Central bank lifts borrowing costs by 25 basis points, citing inflation above 5% and a tight labor market; sees signs of moderation in economic activity

By Sharon Wrobel

View of the Bank Hapoalim offices in the center of Tel Aviv. August 4, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

May 22, 2023, 2:06 pm

Bank Hapoalim posts NIS 2.01b quarterly profit fueled by 49% jump in interest income

Net profit surges 21.3%, prompting bank to raise dividend payout 10 percentage points to 40% of quarterly profit as it benefits from steady interest rate hikes over past year

By Sharon Wrobel

A building under construction in Jerusalem on November 10, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

March 16, 2023, 10:13 pm

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem housing prices fall as mortgage borrowing hits four-year low

Housing market shows a slowdown as prices stabilize; volume of real estate transactions down 39% year-on-year

By Danielle Nagler

January 1, 2023, 7:18 pm

Bank Hapoalim to halt mortgage rate hikes for over 10,000 first-time homeowners

Israeli bank to freeze mortgage rates for borrowers facing repayment difficulty as the Bank of Israel is expected to raise interest rates again on Monday

By Sharon Wrobel

People walk by a Bank Hapoalim branch in Tel Aviv, September 9, 2020. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

December 14, 2022, 11:58 am

Mortgage borrowing in Israel rises in November amid general cooldown

Monthly mortgage lending up almost 24% from October, though still below peak of March 2022

By Danielle Nagler

Safed Old City, November 2022 (Danielle Nagler)

December 1, 2022, 7:25 am

Real estate appraisals fall short of superheated prices, locking out buyers

Sellers looking to make top dollar and anxious buyers in a low-supply market often grapple with significant differences in asking price and estimated value set by appraiser

By Danielle Nagler

An illustrative view of a Bank Hapoalim branch in central Jerusalem on July 27, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

November 17, 2022, 4:06 pm

Mortgage lending continues to fall as housing costs, interest rates rise

Bank of Israel notes decline of over 30% in home loan borrowing over past three months as prices appear to constrain borrowing

By Danielle Nagler

File: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the European Friends of Israel Policy Conference in the Chagall Hall in the Knesset, in Jerusalem, February 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Debbie Hill, Pool)

November 17, 2022, 1:18 pm

Daily Briefing Nov 17: Democracy isn’t dying, but the housing market may be

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur on incessant rumors of a unity government and real estate editor Danielle Nagler on a new amusement park in the Negev

By ToI Staff

A construction site in the central Israeli city of Be'er Ya'akov, 2022. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

October 21, 2022, 4:56 pm

Borrowing for home purchases continues freefall amid higher rates, prices

Israelis took out 20% less in mortgages from August to September, Bank of Israel figures show, bringing lending to lowest level in a year; interest rates expected to keep going up

By Danielle Nagler

Older and newer buildings seen in Netanya in 2020. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

September 23, 2022, 10:18 am

It’s not Boardwalk or Park Place, but NIS 300,000 puts you in Israel’s property game

Part 1 of a Times of Israel series examining what a down payment of about $90,000 can get homebuyers looking to climb the nation’s steep real estate ladder

By Danielle Nagler

Israelis at an ATM machine in Jerusalem on February 22, 2018. (Dario Sanchez/Flash90)

September 1, 2022, 11:50 pm

Number of mortgage loans down, as average borrowing goes up

Bank of Israel figures this week show lowest number of mortgage loans taken in July since September 2021, but average loan at NIS 1.08 million

By Danielle Nagler

New construction of residential apartments in Ashkelon, January 19, 2019. (chert61 via iStock by Getty Images)

August 15, 2022, 4:08 pm

New homes sales in Israel fall, as mortgage-borrowing also down

New Central Bureau of Statistics report suggests property outside central in-demand towns and cities is selling the fastest

By Danielle Nagler

A young woman walks in front of residential towers in Tel Aviv's Sarona neighborhood in Tel Aviv, August 18, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

July 18, 2022, 6:55 am

Better mortgage conditions may help more homebuyers get a leg up, experts say

Easing Israel’s strict caps on lending, meant to insulate the financial sector, could unlock home ownership for first-timers who don’t have the ‘bank of mom and dad’ to rely on

By Danielle Nagler