Tel Aviv prices 6.8% below peak: the buyer’s negotiating file
Prices are soft, and that is your leverage
In July–August 2026, the Central Bureau of Statistics index for the Tel Aviv district stood 6.8% below its January–February 2025 peak. The district is 1.9% lower than a year earlier; Israel overall is 1.8% lower. The year-on-year fall in new-build prices has narrowed, from 4.2% in March–April 2026 to 0.4% in July–August. Over five years, all dwelling prices are still up 26.8% and new-build prices 24.3%. This is a soft stretch after a long climb, and context, not a forecast.
What registered deals say
Israel Tax Authority registered deals over the last 12 months give a Tel Aviv city median of ₪63,700 per m². Old North sits at ₪66,600, Florentine at ₪58,900 and Neve Sha’anan at ₪51,200. A neighbourhood median is where an offer starts, and you can check individual deals on the searchable transactions list.
Stock and sales
About 84,000 new homes were unsold at the end of April 2026, roughly 29.5 months of sales at the current pace. Activity has not stopped: about 24,200 homes sold in Israel in June–August 2026, 8.1% more than a year earlier. In Tel Aviv-Yafo, new-build sales fell to 878 from 1,210 in March–May, while second-hand sales rose to 533 from 444. Developers with unsold stock have reasons to negotiate.
What a buyer can do now
Use the unsold stock: ask for a lower price, or for developer payment terms that spread your cash out. On currency, ₪5M costs $1,619,000 today, against $1,779,000 at the 12-month low, which is $160,000 less. Waiting for a better exchange rate is itself a currency bet, and it can go either way. Staged conversion, or a forward contract arranged with your bank, lets you fix the risk instead. Financing part of the purchase in shekels means the loan moves with the asset.
The Bank of Israel rate is 3.25%, and Israeli prime is that rate plus 1.5 percentage points. Getting mortgage pre-approval now tells you what you can bid before you find the right apartment.
