Bethel Finance news:
The Bank of Israel reported today that NIS 4.73 billion in new mortgages were granted in March 2011, NIS 600,000 shy of the peak of June 2010. The amount of new mortgages in March was 17% more than in February, and 21.4% more than in March 2010.
The number of new mortgages rose to 7,967 in March from 7,254 in February.
The Bank of Israel added that the amount of debt that families are willing to assume to buy a home is also rising. The average mortgage rose to NIS 594,000 in March from NIS 556,000 in February.
Earlier this week, Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer warned that a real estate bubble could jeopardize Israel's financial system, as happened in the US and other countries, if there is even a small increase in the default level of homebuyers who cannot meet rising mortgage payments. Home prices have risen 62% since May 2007.
The Bank of Israel's new directive limiting the variable interest component of mortgages to one-third of the total came into effect today. The Bank of Israel today exempted foreign residents from the new directive.
No comments:
Post a Comment