Housing starts in Israel in 1981 rose almost nine percent over the previous year, the largest jump since 1976, according to a report issued last month by the Builders and Contractors Association in Israel. Association president David Stern reported that 70,370 apartments were built at the end of March 1981, compared with around 64,000 during the same period last year.
The increase in housing construction followed four years of sluggish building activity, Stern said. In 1976, 76,230 apartments were built; that figure dropped to 60,130 in 1977, slumped further to 56,480 in 1978; rose slightly to 04,410 in 1979 and remained at that level throughout 1980.
In the third quarter of 1981, Stern put area construction for apartments and commercial buildings at more than 53 million square feet, a four percent increase over the same period last year. He attributed the gain to renewed government efforts to meet predetermined building quotas. Stern believes the number of apartments currently under construction should sufficiently meet Israel’s housing needs for the next two years.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
