Israeli mortgages, explained in English
Clear guides to how mortgages work in Israel: Bank of Israel rules, tracks and interest, purchase tax and refinancing. Written by Elia Rokach, an independent mortgage advisor in Rehovot.
First steps
Mortgages in Israel for Beginners: What to Know Before You Walk Into the Bank
What an Israeli mortgage is, what it is made of, how the process works from the first check to signing, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
Read the guide →How Much Equity Do You Need to Buy an Apartment in Israel?
Why 25% is only the starting point, how much money you really need including the extra costs, and a full numerical example.
Read the guide →Mortgage Approval in Principle: What It Is, Why You Need It and How to Get Several
What an approval in principle gives you, what it is based on, how long it is valid and how to use it to get a better offer.
Read the guide →How the Bank Calculates How Much Mortgage You Will Get (Repayment Capacity)
Payment-to-income ratio, disposable income, existing liabilities and credit rating: this is how the bank decides on the mortgage amount.
Read the guide →Mortgage Documents in Israel: The Full Checklist
Which documents the bank will ask for from employees, the self-employed and for the property itself, with tips that will save you time.
Read the guide →10 Mistakes First-Time Home Buyers Make in Israel (and How to Avoid Them)
From signing a contract without approved financing to choosing only one bank: the common mistakes that cost the most money.
Read the guide →Mortgage Advisor: What Do They Do, and Is It Worth Hiring One?
The difference between a bank clerk and an advisor, what the service includes, and how to tell whether the advice is worth the money.
Read the guide →How Much Does a Mortgage Advisor Cost in Israel?
Common pricing structures, what affects the price, and how to calculate whether advice pays off.
Read the guide →Tracks and interest rates
The Prime Track: How It Works, When It Pays Off, and the Risk
The Israeli prime rate explained simply: its link to the Bank of Israel rate, advantages, risks, and what share of the mix makes sense.
Read the guide →Fixed CPI-Linked Track: What It Is and Why It Looks Cheap
The track with the seemingly low rate: how CPI linkage affects the principal, and when it still makes sense.
Read the guide →Fixed Non-Linked Track: The Safest Track, and Its Price
The payment is known in advance for the whole period. Why the rate is higher, when it is worth it, and what about early repayment.
Read the guide →Variable Rate Every 5 Years: Anchor, Exit Points and What Happens on Reset Day
How the variable track works, what the new rate is made of, and why the exit point is its big advantage.
Read the guide →What Is the CPI and How Does It Affect Your Mortgage?
Israel's Consumer Price Index in plain language: how linkage works, a numerical example, and how to manage the risk.
Read the guide →How to Build the Right Mortgage Mix
The principles of building a mortgage mix: balancing payment, cost and risk, example mixes, and how to fit the mix to your life.
Read the guide →Spitzer vs. Equal Principal: What Is the Difference and Which Is Better?
Two methods of repaying a loan, with a numerical example: first payment, total interest and when each method fits.
Read the guide →How the Bank of Israel Rate Decision Affects Your Mortgage
What happens to the different tracks when the Bank of Israel raises or cuts rates, and what to do in each case.
Read the guide →Low Rate or Low Payment? The Mistake That Costs Tens of Thousands of Shekels
Why the mortgage with the lowest monthly payment is not necessarily the cheapest, and how to compare offers properly.
Read the guide →What Are the Anchor and the Margin in a Variable-Rate Mortgage?
What the rate on variable tracks is made of, which anchors are common, and why the margin is the most important number to negotiate.
Read the guide →Rules and regulation
Bank of Israel Financing Limits: How Much Can the Bank Finance?
75%, 70% or 50% – the maximum financing ratio for each type of purchase, how it is measured, and what happens when the appraisal comes in low.
Read the guide →The Maximum Payment-to-Income Ratio: How Much of Your Income Can Go to the Mortgage?
The Bank of Israel's 50% limit, why banks in practice stop at around 40%, and how disposable income is calculated.
Read the guide →The One-Third Fixed Rule: What the Bank of Israel Requires in Your Mix
At least one third at a fixed rate: what it means, which tracks count as fixed, and how it affects your mix.
Read the guide →Mortgage Early Repayment Fees in Israel: All the Components and How to Reduce Them
Operational fee, no-notice fee, capitalization fee and average CPI fee: when each one applies, and how to save thousands of shekels.
Read the guide →Mortgage Life and Building Insurance in Israel: How Not to Overpay
Why the bank requires insurance, your right to choose the insurance company, and what to check when comparing offers.
Read the guide →Registering a Mortgage in Israel: Land Registry, Israel Land Authority and Housing Company
Where the rights to the apartment are registered, how the bank registers its lien, and why it matters to you too.
Read the guide →Any-Purpose Mortgage: What It Is, When It Pays Off and the Risk
A loan secured by an apartment you already own, for loan consolidation, renovation or helping your children. Advantages, limits and caution.
Read the guide →Refinancing
When Should You Refinance Your Mortgage? 6 Signs It Is Time to Check
Refinancing can save a lot of money, or cost you dearly. These are the situations worth checking, and how to decide.
Read the guide →How to Calculate Whether Refinancing Your Mortgage Pays Off, Step by Step
Collecting the data, calculating the fees, comparing payment and total cost, and the break-even point, with a numerical example.
Read the guide →Partial or Full Refinancing? How to Decide What to Refinance
You do not have to refinance the whole mortgage. This is how to choose which tracks to replace and which to keep.
Read the guide →Refinancing at Your Bank or Moving to Another Bank: Which Is Better?
The differences in cost, process and bargaining power, and why simply checking with another bank often improves your current bank's offer.
Read the guide →How Much Does Mortgage Refinancing Cost? All the Costs in One Place
Early repayment fees, file opening, appraisal, registration and insurance: what to expect and how to reduce it.
Read the guide →Refinancing When Rates Are Rising: It Can Be Right Too
Refinancing is not only about lowering the rate. Sometimes it is about reducing risk, stabilizing the payment or adapting the mortgage to your life.
Read the guide →7 Common Mortgage Refinancing Mistakes
From comparing only the payment to forgetting the CPI fee: the mistakes that turn a profitable refinancing into an expensive one.
Read the guide →Special situations
Upgrading Your Home in Israel: How to Buy a New Apartment Before Selling the Old One
Bridge loans, financing for a replacement apartment, purchase tax and timing: the guide for upgraders.
Read the guide →A Mortgage for a Discounted Apartment (Dira Behanacha): What You Need to Know
How financing is calculated for a discounted apartment, why the required equity may be lower than expected, and the risks during construction.
Read the guide →Buying a New Apartment from a Contractor in Israel: Mortgage, Construction Index and Guarantees
How financing works for an apartment under construction, what the construction inputs index is, and why a Sale Law guarantee is a must.
Read the guide →Mortgages for the Self-Employed in Israel: How the Bank Checks Income and How to Prepare
Reports, assessments, average and fluctuating income, and why a few months of preparation changes the outcome.
Read the guide →A Mortgage at an Older Age in Israel: Is It Possible and What to Know
How age affects the loan term and payment, life insurance, and solutions such as a reverse mortgage.
Read the guide →Your Mortgage Was Rejected? What to Do Now
The common reasons for rejection, how to understand what happened, and how to prepare for the next application without making things worse.
Read the guide →Credit Rating and BDI: How They Affect Your Mortgage in Israel
What the credit data registry is, who sees the data, and what you can do to improve the picture before applying.
Read the guide →A Mortgage for an Investment Apartment or Second Home in Israel
50% financing, additional-apartment purchase tax, and how to check whether the investment really pays for itself.
Read the guide →A Mortgage in Israel for Foreign Residents: What Is Different and How to Prepare
Lower financing, proof of income from abroad, the loan currency and exchange rates: what to know before buying an apartment in Israel from abroad.
Read the guide →Reverse Mortgage in Israel: Money from Your Apartment Without a Monthly Payment
How a reverse mortgage works, who it suits, the real price, and which questions to ask before signing.
Read the guide →Loans and family finance
Loan Consolidation: Turning Several Payments into One, and When It Really Saves
What loan consolidation is, which options exist, how to calculate real savings, and how not to end up in the same situation again.
Read the guide →Non-Bank Loans in Israel: When They Are a Solution and When They Are a Trap
How they differ from a bank loan, how to compare the real cost, and warning signs worth knowing.
Read the guide →How to Get Out of Overdraft: A 5-Step Plan
Why an overdraft is so expensive, how it affects your mortgage, and a practical plan to turn your account positive.
Read the guide →How to Build a Family Budget That Actually Works
Mapping expenses, dividing them into categories, goals and tracking: a simple method that leaves money at the end of the month.
Read the guide →How to Save Equity for an Apartment: A Practical Plan
How much you need to save, where to keep the money, and tricks that shorten the road to your first apartment.
Read the guide →The Study Fund (Keren Hishtalmut) as a Source of Equity
Why a study fund is one of the best tools for saving for an apartment, when it becomes liquid, and what to check before withdrawing.
Read the guide →When Should You Repay Your Mortgage Early (and When Not)?
You have spare money: repay the mortgage or invest? How to decide, and which track to repay first.
Read the guide →Compound Interest: The Force That Works for You, or Against You
How compound interest works in savings and in debt, why time is the most important variable, and numerical examples.
Read the guide →Taxes and extra costs
Purchase Tax in Israel 2026: Brackets, Examples and Who Gets Relief
Purchase tax brackets for a single apartment and an additional apartment, how long they are valid, examples and common mistakes.
Read the guide →A Lawyer for Buying an Apartment in Israel: What They Do and What It Costs
The lawyer's role in the deal, common price ranges, and what to check before choosing one.
Read the guide →Real Estate Appraisers and Mortgages in Israel: Why the Appraisal Matters So Much
How the appraisal affects the mortgage amount, what to do when it comes in below the price, and when to hire your own appraiser.
Read the guide →All the Costs of Buying an Apartment in Israel: The Full List
Beyond the price: purchase tax, lawyer, agent, appraiser, bank, insurance, moving and renovation, with a summary table.
Read the guide →Capital Gains Tax (Mas Shevach) When Selling an Apartment in Israel: When You Pay and When You Are Exempt
What mas shevach is, the exemption for a single residential apartment, and why early planning matters especially for upgraders and investors.
Read the guide →Market and decisions
Contractor Financing Deals (80/20 and Similar): What Is Really Behind Them
How 80/20 deals, contractor loans and interest subsidies work, and how to check whether the deal really pays off.
Read the guide →Buy an Apartment Now or Wait? How to Decide Without Guessing the Market
Why you cannot time the market, and what does determine whether this is the right time for you, not for the index.
Read the guide →Renting vs. Buying in Israel: How to Compare Properly
What each option really costs over time: interest, rent, costs, opportunity cost and appreciation.
Read the guide →A Mortgage in Rehovot: What to Know About Buying in the City and the Area
New neighborhoods, contractor and second-hand apartments, discounted apartments, and the points to check before buying in Rehovot and the surrounding area.
Read the guide →15 Questions You Must Ask the Bank Before Signing a Mortgage
A practical list for your bank meeting: interest, fees, insurance, early repayment and terms that are easy to miss.
Read the guide →