Immigration to Israel Expected to Rise in 2009

(IsraelNN.com) Immigration to Israel is expected to rise some 20% in 2009, according to the Jewish Agency. Last year 15,442 people made aliyah. In 2009 over 18,000 Jews are expected move to Israel. The majority of the new immigrants are expected to come from the West. Some 7,000 are expected from the former Soviet Union, while 4,000 each are expected from North America and Europe. Other countries will contribute some 3,000.

The immigration is believed to be fueling the local real estate market which has remained strong in spite of the global downturn. Real estate observers expect some 20% of new home sales this year to be made to new immigrants. Most popular for olim from the West are Beit Shemesh followed by Ra'anana and Modi'in. As a general rule, the large majority of new immigrants prefer new housing over old.