Renting in Tel Aviv: What's up and what's down

War, construction projects, and light rail works are all contributing to shifts in rental patterns in the city. Not everything sells as in the past.

Rents in Tel Aviv have been shaken up in the past two years by war, the economy, and planning. The Swords of Iron war initially led to a rise in the supply of apartments for rent, among other things because of prolonged service by reserve soldiers, who chose to return to living with their parents rather than pay rent for apartments from which they were absent for long periods.

As life gradually returned to normal, so did demand, but with a change in tenants’ preferences, as they looked for apartments with a safe room or shelter. At the same time, the wave of construction in the city and work on the light rail system also contributed to the repricing of rents.

We set out to examine how rent levels have developed in Tel Aviv recently, what sort of apartments are in demand, and which apartments have actually fallen in price.

Double-digit rises for some apartments

Let’s start with some numbers. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the average rent for a home in the Tel Aviv district in the third quarter of 2025 was NIS 6,228 monthly, much higher than the national average in that period of NIS 4,952 monthly.

In the third quarter of 2024, the average monthly rent in Tel Aviv was NIS 6,025, and in the third quarter of 2023 it was NIS 5,748.

According to rent insurance company WeCheck, the average monthly rent for four-five room apartments was NIS 9,348 in December 2025, 10% higher than a year earlier when it was NIS 8,489.

What about small apartments? Rents for these have risen more moderately. The average monthly rent for a 1-2 room apartment in December 2025 was NIS 6,217, 4.5% higher than a year earlier, when it was NIS 5,950.

In some months in 2025, rents fell. In November, for example, rents were lower than in October, but they then rose 3.8% in December.

Shahar Rabinovich, owner of the Yesh Nadlan real estate agency in Tel Aviv, says that although the figures show a general rise in average rents in the city, there are significant differences between different types of apartment. The differences lie chiefly in the kind of protected space available, proximity to vacate and build projects and to light rail works, and location within the city.

Renters not taking just any apartment

Dani Levitan, a realtor at RE/MAX Win Tel Aviv, says that rents in the city are rising moderately, but that the big difference is that today there is no automatic rush for any apartment that goes on the market.

"There aren’t queues outside apartments as there were in the past, and renters aren’t jumping on any property at any price," he says. He adds that the cost of living and the sense of a security threat still in the air are making many renters stay well within their means.

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Rabinovich says that by contrast with the sales market, which is stagnant at present, the rental market in Tel Aviv is experiencing high demand. Nevertheless, he says that apartment owners who demand higher than average rents are having difficulty in finding tenants.

"Renters aren’t jumping on every apartment in Tel Aviv, and if the price is unduly high, the apartment will simply stand empty. For example, we have an apartment in the Kikar Hamedina area for which the owner is asking NIS 1,500 more than the market average, and demand is very thin," he says.

"There’s no doubt that demand for apartments with a safe room rose substantially after the war with Iran," Rabinovich says. "For example, a two-room apartment in Ben Gurion Street that was rented until recently for NIS 6,500 a month went back onto the market and was rented for NIS 8,000, just because it has a safe room."

Another example is an apartment that underwent urban renewal in Zeitlin Street: a three-room, 75 square-meter apartment with a safe room, parking, and a balcony, was rented for NIS 11,000 monthly. "In general, those who can afford to rent an apartment like that are well-off families with children who realize that in the next war they would prefer the protection of a safe room rather than have to run around with the children in the middle of the night," says Rabinovich. "By contrast, an apartment in the same place with no safe room and without parking was rented for just NIS 9,000."

Levitan seconds Rabinovich’s observation, and says that safe rooms have become an important factor in the rental market. "In comparison with 2023, rents for apartments with safe rooms have risen by about 10%," he says. "For example, the rent for a three-room apartment with a safe room in the east of Tel Aviv is currently NIS 5,500-7,500 monthly, whereas an apartment in the same neighborhood with no safe room but with a communal shelter in the building fetches NIS 6,500 monthly at most."

"In the old north of the city, the rent for an apartment with a safe room can reach NIS 10,000 monthly, whereas the rent for an apartment without a safe room ranges between NIS 6,000 and NIS 9,000 monthly," he says.

According to Levitan, rents for apartments with no safe room and no shelter have fallen by between 5% and 10% since 2023. "There are also tenants, mostly younger ones, who choose to rely on other solutions such as staying with parents or friends or going to a nearby communal shelter when necessary," Levitan says.

"In general, however, apartments with no safe room and no shelter are currently let at lower rents, while those with a shelter, and certainly if they have a safe room, enjoy higher demand."

Another factor that affects rent levels in Tel Aviv is proximity to vacate-and-build projects and to light rail works.

Rabinovich cites as an example a project in Jabotinsky Street, close to Kikar Hamedina, where three buildings were recently demolished in order to construct a new apartment complex, which led to a fall in the monthly rent for an apartment close by the project of NIS 2,000. "People simply aren’t prepared to live next to a building site, and so landlords have to be flexible on price," he explains.

At the same time, Rabinovich reminds us that, as usual with real estate, location is also a substantial factor in the price. As an example, he cites two apartments recently let in Yirmiyahu Street, with no safe room but with a shelter, on the third floor with no elevator, at NIS 8,000 monthly. "The street’s location plays a leading role here," he explains. "Yirmiyahu Street is near the sea and near Hayarkon Park, and there are no light rail works there, which raises demand for an apartment."

Fewer transaction in new apartments

Levitan comments on the growing supply of urban renewal projects in Tel Aviv, which is contributing to keeping rents in check, and is even causing additional projects to be delayed.

"There’s no doubt that there’s a rise in the supply of apartments in buildings that have undergone vacate-and-build, and that has a direct impact on prices," he explains. Nevertheless, he stresses that this is a known phenomenon. "In newly constructed neighborhoods too, prices are initially lower, until supply comes into line with demand."

He believes that this is a completely natural process. "In the end, this was the aim of the government and of the Ministry of Housing and Construction," he says.

All the same, he points out that, on the ground, the number of deals for new apartments has fallen off, mainly because of high interest rates.

"The return on a new apartment in Tel Aviv is currently 2-3% at best, and it simply isn’t worthwhile for buyers, who can put the money in the bank and obtain 4-5% with no effort. The result is that fewer people are choosing to invest in real estate," Levitan says.

In this context it should be mentioned that rents in Tel Aviv make most apartment owners liable to pay tax on them (the ceiling for exemption from tax on rent is NIS 5,654 monthly). "We are therefore seeing many potential buyers not rushing to do deals," says Levitan. This situation has led to a degree of slowdown in the market, he says, but not a complete halt. "In Tel Aviv, particularly in high-demand neighborhoods, a good apartment is still snatched up within a week," he says.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 11, 2026.

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