Israel's consumer price index fell 0.1% in October compared with September, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. Economists had forecast an increase of about half a percent.
The latest figures point to a mixed picture across the economy. Consumer prices edged down and home prices continued to fall year on year. At the same time, the residential construction input index and industrial prices rose.
Some items still became more expensive in October. Clothing and footwear rose 4.1% and fresh vegetables climbed 3.5%. Home maintenance went up 0.4%, and furniture and household equipment rose 0.3%.
Other items fell. Fresh fruit dropped 2.8%, transportation fell 1.4%, and owner-occupied housing services declined 0.5%.
Rental data show a gap between tenants who stayed put and those who moved. Rent rose 2.8% for tenants who renewed their leases. In apartments where the tenant changed, rent increased 5.5%.
The Central Bureau of Statistics noted that these figures roughly reflect the annual change in rent for both groups. Most tenants do not see their monthly payment change during the year, because contracts set the rent in advance, usually without indexation clauses.
The housing market also continued to soften. The home price index fell 0.2% when deals made in August and September 2026 were compared with those made in July and August.
The sharpest drops were in the Tel Aviv and Haifa districts, at 0.8% each. Prices fell 0.6% in the Southern District and 0.2% in the Central District. The Northern District recorded a 0.4% rise, and prices in Jerusalem were unchanged. The index of new apartment prices fell 0.7% over the same period.
Over the year, home prices in August and September 2026 were 1.5% lower than in the same period of 2025. Tel Aviv led the declines at 2.1%, followed by the Central District at 2%, the South at 1.6%, the North at 0.3% and Jerusalem at 0.1%. Haifa was the only district to record an annual increase, at 0.3%. New apartments also fell over the year, by a more modest 0.2%.
The average price of an apartment in Israel in the third quarter of 2026 was NIS 2,286,700. That is 1.5% lower than the third quarter of 2025, when the average stood at NIS 2,320,400. The home price index is not part of the consumer price index.
Construction costs kept rising even as home prices fell. The residential construction input index rose 0.4% in October to 104.4 points, up from 104 points in September. It is up 3.2% since the start of the year and 3.9% over 12 months.
Labor was a major driver. Wages in the construction sector rose 5.2% over the year, including 0.5% in October alone.
Prices of building materials and products rose 0.1% in the month. Blocks rose 2.1%, mesh and cages 1.3%, and construction steel 1.2%. Prefabricated partitions fell 1.2% and ready-mix concrete dropped 0.7%.
Industrial prices also rose sharply in October. The output price index for domestic destinations climbed 1.9% from September, but excluding fuels it was unchanged. Over the year, the industrial output price index rose 5.1%, while the index excluding fuels rose 0.9%.
Refined petroleum products drove the monthly increase with a jump of 16.5%. Basic metals rose 1.5%. Clothing fell 1.2% and textiles dropped 2%.
In mining and quarrying, the price index for domestic destinations rose 0.9% in October. It remains 4.2% lower than in October 2025.
