29 percent of people aged 20 and above in Jerusalem, reside in an apartment they are renting. The rest reside in an apartment they own (60%), or use other arrangements (11%), including an apartment owned by a family member or a friend. This is revealed by the Central Bureau of Statistics’ social survey, for the years 2012-2013 (years were averaged to minimize inaccuracy).
The percentage of renters in Jerusalem equals the one in Haifa (29%), and is low compared to Tel Aviv (42%). Interesting to note is the percentage being equal to that in Haifa, since Jerusalem is home to a very large population characterized by a traditional way of life, and we could have expected a lower percentage of renters.
Most of these renters do not own an apartment, but a considerable share does. 16 percent of Jerusalemites residing in a rented apartment (15% in Tel Aviv and only 10% in Haifa) own a different apartment, possibly renting it to others. As a result, the total percentage of home owners in Jerusalem is higher than the 60 percent residing in their own place, and stands at 66 percent in Jerusalem, 61 percent in Tel Aviv, and 71 percent in Haifa.
Of course the people residing in their own apartment sometimes own another one as well. This describes 12 percent of the people that live in their own apartment in Jerusalem, 15 percent in Haifa, and 22 percent in Tel Aviv.
Naturally, the rate of home ownership rises with age. Among young people aged 20-34 in Jerusalem, this rate stands at 55% – slightly higher than in Haifa (at 52%) and considerably higher than in Tel Aviv (at 39%). This percentage rises continuously with age in the three large cities, but in Jerusalem it rises slower, and comes to 79 percent at the age group of 65 and above – equal to the percentage in Haifa (at 79%), but lower than in Tel Aviv (at 86%). The change of the trend between the cities in the older ages may be connected to the difficulty of buying an apartment in Jerusalem, even for the people who are older today, meaning that the difficulty has been prevailing for years. But considering the high apartment prices in Tel Aviv, we can assume that it probably also stems in part from the phenomenon of young people leaving Tel Aviv, having failed to purchase an apartment there.
Data source: Social Survey, the Central Bureau of Statistics
