Homeowners in Tel Aviv received the highest returns in Israel on the apartments they owned in 2021, but not from rent, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports in a summary of housing prices and rents in Israel’s 15 largest cities.

Returns on real estate for investment include two components: the rise in the value of the property (less transfer tax on the profit when sold), and the rent received (exempt from income tax up to a ceiling of NIS 5,196 per month).

In terms of renting out the property, the best returns in 2021 were on a 1-2 room apartment in Beersheba.

Somebody who bought an apartment for NIS 570,000 at the end of 2020 would have seen returns of 4.3% on the rent by the end of 2021, although the value of the property fell 2% in 2021 for overall returns of just 2.5%.

In terms of the national average, an apartment bought in the fourth quarter of 2020 would have provided 3% returns on rent to the owner in 2021, while the value of the property would have risen by almost 8%, meaning that overall returns amounted to nearly 11% in 2021.

Far above the average was Tel Aviv. While 1-4 room apartments in the city saw rental returns for their landlords of just 2.5% in 2021, taking the rise in the value of the property into account, investors who bought apartments in Tel Aviv at the end of 2020 saw overall returns of between 22% and 28%.

The average price of a three-room apartment in Tel Aviv jumped 25% in 2021 from NIS 2.28 million to NIS 3.36 million.

Also at the top of the ranking in terms of returns in 2021 was Ashkelon, led by its 1-2 room apartments.

Annual returns on renting out apartments in 2021 were 4.2% while the average price rose 20% in 2021 from NIS 615,000 to NIS 743,000 so overall returns were nearly 25%.

The real estate market in 2022 is expected to be different from last year. Firstly, because of the rapid rise in apartment prices, rental returns have fallen.

The annual returns from rent were just 2.8% on average in Israel in the fourth quarter of 2021 and just 2% in Tel Aviv.

With lower rent returns and the jump in purchase tax for investors in November, it is debatable whether it pays for an investor to buy a property.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz put the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on ice on Tuesday after Russia formally recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

“We must reassess the situation, in particular regarding Nord Stream 2,” Scholz said at a news conference with his Irish counterpart, adding that the economy ministry would look again at the certification process given Russia’s actions.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies at a briefing on Tuesday not to wait for a further escalation to impose sanctions, which should include shutting down the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Zelensky also said Ukraine may break off diplomatic relations with Russia after Moscow’s decision to recognize two regions of eastern Ukraine as independent.

Speaking alongside his Estonian counterpart, Zelensky said he was weighing a request from his foreign ministry to break off ties.

Zelensky played down the prospect of a large-scale conflict with Russia but said he was prepared to introduce martial law if that happened.

Israeli researchers analyzed cargo from a 3,200-year-old shipwreck which demonstrated previously unknown elaborate trading links in the Mediterranean basin during the Late Bronze Age.

It has long been known that the Mediterranean Sea basin during the Late Bronze Age was a pretty busy place, characterized by complex relations amongst kingdoms and diplomatic connections outside of the region, making it a busy marine corridor for trade and gifts amongst the elite and from one ruler or king to another.

Research by Hebrew University professors on lead ingots and stone anchors which were found among shipwrecked cargo off the coast of Israel has now revealed previously unknown elaborate trade links among distant countries.

The analysis of these ancient finds sheds light on commercial and diplomatic life in the areas from 3,200 years ago.

Especially during the 13th and 14th centuries BCE there was a very elaborate trade system and formal levels of exchanges and gift-giving between the palatial centers all around the Mediterranean, from Babylon, Greece, Anatolia and other areas along the basin.

The terms and conditions of these exchanges were set out in ancient archives found in Ugarit, an ancient port city and economic center in what is today northern Syria.

By studying the source of the lead and comparing their findings to other archeological artifacts from across the Mediterranean Sea, the researchers were able to prove that the ingots were made of lead mined in the central Mediterranean island of Sardinia. 

Further, the ingots were incised with Cypro-Minoan markings which, though undeciphered to this day, are known to have been in use in Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age. 

Accordingly, the researchers concluded that there were vast commercial ties between the two populations with the purpose of transporting raw material.