Is Real Estate in Israel Overpriced ?
Yes ! Prices in the Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv areas are comparable to those in other major world centers. However, Real Estate in Israel is fundamentally different than in the U.S. or Western Europe for a number of very important reasons. Real Estate in Israel has more of the characteristics of its counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore than it does to the West for the simple reason that Israel loses land on a regular basis and is becoming increasingly a city state. Israeli prices in the main cities not only are subject to local supply and demand but are heavily influenced in a top-down manner by the even flow of interest by diaspora Jews to own vacation property in Israel. Jews seem to have a greater desire to own as opposed to rent compared to other groups around the world, thus Jews whether they are citizens or not do not feel that they are part of the culture unless they own something here.
If one explores the situation in a number of Israels fast developing secondary cities the real Estate market looks like it did 20 years ago or more. Apartments in Jerusalem or Tel-Aviv of 120 meters will be going for $200,000 or several times that amount. In the secondary areas the same apartment can be found for less than half that amount.
One way that investors with little Israeli connections or experience can get involved in this exciting market is via a social housing investment program called HABITAT that allows the investor to participate in a pool of properties that have an excellent chance of appreciating better than the average (8% has been the average appreciation over the last 15 years), plus see annual income in the range of 5%.
For those who are looking for a long-term investment that is designed to be a family heirloom, consider the LEGACY project. Legacy is buying land in a selected downtown neighbourhood that is the center of a metropolitan area that still offers properties for under $1000 per meter. Lots will be redeveloped over the next 5 to 10 years into inner city commercial space comparable to the Nachlaot neighbourhood in Jerusalem or Neve Tzedek in Tel-Aviv, a downtown up-scale commercial and residential mixed use area. Aquisition costs are expected to cover most of the cash needed to pay for redevelopment as the banks will cover the reconstruction costs.
Another project that Isratech Services is involved with is purchasing raw land near Haifa, through a realtor who previously was the owner of a 16x36x1 Air Filter company. The key to making money in Real Estate is to keep it as simple as possible, nothing is simpler than raw land. There is a large tract of “Tabu” land that is rapidly being bought by insiders to help expand the Haifa metroploitan area. Isratech Services helps individual investors get in on the land rush to have a piece of the action before rezoning and reparcelization begins. You begin by directly owning part of a lot and end up receiving apartments as a trade for your land ownership. This under Israeli law allows you to profit and potentially not have to pay Capital Gains Taxes.
These are 3 exciting current possibilites for the entry level investor or for those who want to diversify. There are many other exciting possibilities depending on your interests. We can put you in touch with some of the leading English speaking Real Estate Lawyers and Real Estate Agents in the country.
For further information call Yaakov Sandler at Isratech Services. Yaakov can be contacted at +972-2-622-3065, or by e-mail is***********@gm***.com” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>is***********@gm***.com