Close a deal: Is the marketing price the actual closing price?

A key part of the process of buying or selling an apartment in Israel is bargaining on the price. In many cases there is a gap between the price at which the apartment was advertised for sale, and the closing price of the transaction actually paid. Leaving a reasonable margin of maneuver regarding the final price, out of familiarity and understanding of the market situation, may improve the bargaining power in the negotiations that take place until the desired deal is closed.

Has the corona affected housing prices?

After the outbreak of the corona during 2020, we found that sellers across the country compromised more on selling prices than before the corona. This phenomenon was probably due to the uncertainty that characterized that period and the dealing with a new and unfamiliar situation, alongside economic challenges summoned by the closures. Recently, towards the end of 2021, we re-examined the height of the average compromise in apartment prices, and found that this year there was a reverse trend in the market . That is, the willingness of sellers to compromise on price was smaller in most of the cities surveyed, and the average national compromise percentage was about 0.3% lower than in 2020. The average national compromise percentage in 2021 was about 4.5%, with great variability between different regions and cities. . For example, in the city of Haifa the average percentage of compromise is relatively high and stands at about 6%. In contrast, in the city of Rehovot, the average percentage of compromises in apartment prices is relatively low and stands at about 3%.

In which cities the willingness to compromise on price has decreased most significantly in 2021? The inspection we did revealed that these cities were: Or Akiva, Rosh HaAyin, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Kiryat Ono and Jerusalem. In the graph attached below you can see the average percentage of compromise in these cities, in 2021 compared to 2020. This interest may indicate that in these cities, the market situation in the past year tended in favor of sellers so they could sell the apartment at a price closer to the asking price. On the other side of the deal, buyers were apparently forced to settle for more modest price reductions in the negotiation process.