PNN – New dimensions of the reverse migration of Zionists and their flight from occupied Palestine have come to light.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; the Zman Yisrael newspaper emphasized in a report published in its Sunday edition that reverse migration from Israel (occupied Palestine) has led to a significant drop in the demand for housing.
According to this media outlet, tens of thousands of young (Zionist) people emigrated from Israel (occupied Palestine) between 2024 and 2025, and this negative migration balance has caused housing price growth in Israel to stall.
The outlet added that since 2022, the rise in housing (apartment) prices in Israel has been very slow—contrasting sharply with the 130% increase recorded during the 15 years leading up to 2022.
The media outlet noted that data indicates the phenomenon of “reverse migration”—which has become widespread—has halted the rise of housing prices in Israel, even though Netanyahu’s cabinet is attempting to take credit for this trend.
It was further emphasized that the protracted wars waged by Netanyahu’s cabinet have driven tens of thousands of young people to return to their countries of origin; meanwhile, it is important to recall that since 2024, Israel’s demographic trajectory has shifted toward a negative migration balance, alongside the expansion of reverse migration.
According to Ziman Yisrael, tens of thousands of Israelis—most of whom are young and at the age to work and start families—have left (occupied Palestine), a trend that has directly impacted the housing market.
The outlet also noted that a decline in living standards and a drop in per capita gross income are contributing factors to this situation—trends observed following the events of 2023 (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood).
The report’s author goes on to discuss in detail the failure of Israel’s strategy to attract immigrants, alongside the significant rise in emigration and the exodus of Zionists from (occupied Palestine), framing the issue as a major demographic shift: How has the wave of reverse migration shaken Israel’s housing market?
After maintaining a positive migration balance for decades, Israel is now grappling with an unprecedented phenomenon: a shift to negative migration figures—a trend that is intensifying at an alarming rate.
A look at Israel’s demographic history reveals that, for the vast majority of past years, its migration balance remained consistently positive, driven by a steady influx of Jewish immigrants and low emigration rates.
This trend peaked during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1990s, a period when more than two million people immigrated to (occupied Palestine).
In 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a moderate wave of migrants and asylum-seekers from both countries arrived.
However, with the start of 2023 and the inauguration of the current cabinet—and specifically following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the major defeat Israel suffered therein—the tide turned abruptly; the number of new migrant arrivals plummeted, while the rate of departure (reverse migration of Zionists) reached unprecedented levels, to the point where Israel effectively faced a net migration deficit in 2024 and 2025.
According to data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, approximately 82,000 Israelis left the country in 2024, while only 24,000 returned—a figure representing a net loss of 58,000 people.
During the same period, only 31,000 new immigrants arrived, resulting in an overall population deficit of 27,000.
This trend of population decline continued into 2025; statistical data indicate that around 69,000 residents left Israel for the long term that year.
Conversely, the number of new immigrants arriving dropped to 24,600, while approximately 19,000 people chose to return; the net result of this movement was a further deficit of 20,000 in the population balance.
When analyzing the phenomenon of reverse migration, the factor of age is just as significant as the sheer number of people involved. Data indicates that the majority of those undertaking cross-border migration fall within the prime working-age bracket—specifically between 25 and 44 years old—a period when individuals typically consider starting a family, purchasing their first apartment, or upgrading their housing.
In other words, this population outflow is not limited to retirees or children; rather, it encompasses a dynamic segment of society that forms the core of the housing market.
When thousands of young people and young families leave the country, not only does the demand for new homes cease, but their existing apartments also flood the market—a trend that reduces the pool of potential buyers and exerts downward pressure on prices.
A net migration loss of 47,000 people over two years is equivalent to 47,000 housing units becoming vacant (assuming an average household size of three).
This means there are approximately 16,000 fewer potential households in the housing market to drive demand. This drop in demand has been further intensified by the disparity in age demographics between the older individuals leaving Israel and the new, lower-income immigrants arriving.
This drop in demand becomes even more apparent when compared to the total annual volume of housing transactions.
Over the past two years, approximately 80,000 new apartments and 100,000 resale units have been traded in Israel; this implies that the wave of reverse migration has removed the equivalent of 10 percent of potential homebuyers from the market each year (as 10 percent of the Israeli workforce leaves the occupied territories annually).
Even assuming that only a fraction of these families had short-term plans to purchase a home, these figures still indicate a real and tangible decline in demand. According to economic principles, whenever demand falls without a corresponding decrease in supply, prices inevitably trend downward.
Another part of the report acknowledges that tens of thousands of young Israelis leave the country each year, as continued life in this region has become unbearable for many of them.
Under these circumstances, those who tout falling housing prices as an achievement are essentially taking pride in having made living conditions so difficult that the indirect result has been a cooling of housing market demand.