French and British Buyers Are Quietly Reshaping Israeli Real Estate
The weakening US dollar is changing who’s buying property in Israel. Americans are buying less. French and British buyers are buying more, a lot more.
20/05/202
A new Finance Ministry report, the first ever to break down foreign purchases by nationality, tells the story clearly.
Americans Are Still Here, Just Less So
Americans made up 60% of all foreign buyers in early 2025. That dropped to 49% in the first quarter of 2026. The number of apartments they bought barely changed: 248 last year, 238 this year. But their dominance of the market is shrinking because other nationalities are growing fast.
The reason is simple. The dollar lost 13.6% of its value against the shekel over the past year. That means Israeli property got significantly more expensive for anyone paying in dollars.
French and British Buyers Are Surging
While Americans pulled back, French and British buyers went the other direction. French purchases jumped from 84 apartments to 130 a 55% increase in one year. British buyers went from 37 to 57 apartments over the same period. Both groups are buying at levels not seen before.
The euro only weakened 4% against the shekel compared to the dollar’s 13.6% drop. That currency difference is showing up directly in the numbers.
Where Are They Buying?
Americans are concentrated in Jerusalem, which accounted for over half their purchases at a median price of NIS 5.1 million. Netanya came in second, ahead of Beit Shemesh, followed by Kiryat Gat and Tel Aviv.
French buyers are spreading out more. Netanya was their top destination with 35 apartments sold. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv tied for second with 28 each. Ashdod, once a major hub for French buyers, dropped to just five purchases.
French buyers are also spending less than Americans, an average of NIS 2.8 million per apartment compared to NIS 5.1 million for Americans in Jerusalem.
The Bigger Picture
All of this is happening while Israel’s overall housing market is slowing down. Total transactions fell 8% in March compared to the same month last year, partly due to the impact of the IDF’s Roaring Lion operation against Iran.