Tel Aviv’s housing market has found itself in a unique supply-and-demand imbalance – the number of agents outweighs the quantity of available properties.
According to the Israeli business news site Globes, Tel Aviv recorded a total of 2,270 pre-owned home sales in 2024 – which is something of a problem when one considers the market has 2,566 registered realtors. Local agents are also facing a regimen of new ethical regulations requiring higher professional and legal standards than previously required.
As a result, fewer Israelis were taking the broker licensing exam last year. Between 2020 and 2022, the number of realtors rose 26%. There were 24,885 licensed real estate agents in Israel in 2024, down from the 2022 peak of 26,193.
“A great many agents are in a difficult economic situation today, some are leaving the field and offices are closing,” said Israel Realtors Association Chairman Itzik Levy. “In the most recent exams of the Registrar of Realtors, there was a decline of almost 25% in the number of taking the exam who applied for brokerage, and from 2,300-2,400 taking the exam in recent years, the number has dropped to about 1,700.”
Levy added that while Israel’s high interest rates and its ongoing war against the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah created problems for the nation’s housing market, another troubling trend has buyers favoring new apartments over pre-owned units, reducing demand for the latter.
“At the beginning of 2024, contractors found the solution of the 10-90 financial deals, causing many buyers to purchase apartments within this framework,” Levy said, noting how buyers are putting down 10% in equity and paying the balance on a new apartment when it is ready for occupancy.
