Virtual panel of the Minister of Construction and Housing, Litzman, with representatives of the real estate industry on the periphery, bureaucracy and all-inclusive policies

• Ofer Petersburg interviews the minister.

  Winners of the price per occupant in the center won the lottery

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  24/7 real estate system

Produced by the Department of Special Supplements

The Minister of Construction and Housing, Yaakov Litzman, has only been in office for five months, but he has already managed to carry out a reform that usually takes a year to plan, and has also received quite a bit of criticism for it.

Litzman, who is no stranger to housing issues, feels at home after a tumultuous term in the Ministry of Health.

"It's no secret that I was under pressure in Torah Judaism to take over the housing, because the ultra-Orthodox public has been neglected all these years. You see it in the construction planning - the balconies, the floor sinks. In short, they didn't want the ultra-Orthodox there," he says.

He has no problem disqualifying the price per occupant in the central region, for whom the previous finance minister committed suicide.

Of the young people who won the apartments in the center, he says: "They won the lottery."

And he sends all your people Israel to live in the periphery.

Some industry executives were invited to refer questions to the minister around the main and burning problems in the housing market.

Ido Hajaj

Real estate is one of the levers to get out of the crisis. Do you intend to initiate further tax relief?

The housing market is a catalyst for encouraging the economy in this difficult time, and I see this as an opportunity out of the existing difficulty.

Tax decisions are under the authority of the Tax Authority and the Treasury, but I have proposed lowering the purchase tax in the periphery.

There are advantages in the decision of the Minister of Finance to expand my proposal to the whole country. 

The housing market accounts for 6.4% of GDP in Israel and the industry's annual credit volume is about NIS 88 billion. Accelerating construction will accelerate the entire economy and encourage the creation of new jobs, which we so desperately need.

Roni Mizrahi

Why is the Ministry of Housing not considering providing assistance to buyers of second-hand apartments in the center of the country and allowing them to continue living close to work, family and friends?

We decided to encourage housing in the periphery to strengthen the Negev and the Galilee.

For many years we have been told how important investing in the periphery is and how neglected it is compared to the center.

A housing minister arrives and takes the periphery as a top destination, so he is asked why not in the center.

Those who have the money to buy an apartment in the center are blessed, but we need to encourage the periphery instead.

At the center of the market forces know how to work well without intervention.

Arnon Friedman,

How do you intend to harness the local authorities in the center of the country to the national task of increasing the supply of apartments, when, according to them, the property tax is low and the increase in density will harm the quality of life?

I see the heads of the local authorities as partners in the national effort to solve the housing crisis.

I talk to many of them, in all parts of the country.

I believe the solution is both in urban renewal and in new construction, both in condensing neighborhoods and in establishing new cities and neighborhoods.

Micha Klein

The policy based on land at a high price in the central area will not allow families to purchase an apartment at a fair price.

What is the solution?

A government benefit for apartment buyers in unnecessary luxury neighborhoods in my eyes.

There are quite a few cities in the central area where the price is too expensive, and there is room to give young couples a significant discount so that they can afford to buy an apartment.

I am talking, for example, about Rosh HaAyin, Lod, Elad and the rest of the second circle to the Tel Aviv district.

Erez Rosenbuch

How does the government intend to deal with the expected distress in the rental housing market, as a result of the decline in the supply of apartments for investment, in parallel with the increase in the demand for rental housing due to the increase in the population and the economic situation?

Investing in the real estate market is the solution that will get us out of the economic crisis. The government must invest in housing support infrastructure, with the aim of increasing supply and creating thousands of jobs. Fortunately, both the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister agree with this statement. We definitely encourage long-term rental housing as a solution Effective for certain sections of the population from all sectors.

Ohad Danos

Are you not afraid that the renewed gamble on the periphery, which is relatively saturated with new apartments, is doomed to failure in the first place?

It is our national responsibility to make sure that the citizens who have chosen to build their home in the periphery are not neglected and that not the entire population is concentrated between Gedera and Hadera.

Yehuda Ketab

Will Remi's move to the Ministry of Housing expedite complementary land moves to promote urban renewal projects?

Rami's connection to the Ministry of Housing is welcome, and I demanded this as a condition at the beginning of my term. In this way, we will be able to lead the right processes, including urban renewal.

Eyal Handler

Isn't the corona era a good time to continue TMA 38, which is expected to end by October 2022?

TMA was a good solution at the time, but did not prove itself for the periphery. Now we need to think of better solutions for both the market and the authorities. The government authority is now taking an important part in building the new tool that will replace the TMA and provide the required response, The arrangements.

Haim Mesilati

What is the quick fix as a replacement for the price per occupant to help young couples?

We need to find an immediate solution for young couples.

There are thousands of second-hand apartments in the Negev and the Galilee.

With the consent of the Minister of Finance, grants of up to NIS 700,000 will be given for the value of an apartment in the Negev and the Galilee.

This way you do not have to pay rent and the families and couples immediately move in.

Erez Cohen,

Do you intend to put an end to a situation where RMI has become a kind of state within a state and continues to determine the auction policy, the pricing, serves as a speculator in the state lands, constantly harasses private landowners and does not address the decisions of the chief government appraiser and decisive appraisers?

I do not accept these assumptions as worded.

It is true that there is something to improve in RMI, and we will do so for the proper conduct of the housing economy.

Yossi Avrahami

What is your position on the facilitation of building permits and land allocations for those who are willing to invest in factories and employment during this difficult period?

I have been talking these days with representatives of the contractors on this issue as well.

I share the view that significant reliefs and benefits for investment in employment ventures should be promoted.

It was agreed that a number of options would be presented for professional examination by the firm.

Yitzhak Bejarano

Why do you want to raise the royalty for quarries, which will inevitably lead to higher prices?

This is a familiar, complex and painful issue between the quarries and Rami. I instructed the director general of the ministry to go into the depths of the beam in order to reach an agreed solution.

I believe it is possible.

Brigadier General (Res.) Eitan Levy

Why is the issuance of building permits not promoted more quickly in the various authorities?

The bureaucracy in our backs is also on this issue.

As much as it depends on the Ministry of Housing, we will work to shorten procedures for the benefit of the residents.

As we know, not everything is within our jurisdiction.

Yair Cohen

How does the government intend to help young couples get to the apartment and provide a solution for housing developers and investors who are interested in living in areas of demand at a reasonable price?

We will continue to market land at a reduced price, which will include discounts for those eligible throughout the country, except for luxury neighborhoods.

We have a number of real plans in favor of encouraging the housing market, such as returning the grants to second-hand apartments in the periphery, promoting urban renewal and more.

Eldad Nitzan

How do you respond to the urgent need to increase working hands in the construction industry?

I reached a joint agreement with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Labor and Welfare on increasing the quota of foreign and Palestinian workers.

This is in addition to targeted actions that will increase the participation of Israeli workers.

Nir Shmol,

Why not allow each new project to increase the number of housing units, in exchange for approving public housing in the same building and creating integration between populations?

There is a decision that marketing price per occupant will include up to 7% for public housing.

This is a super important decision and its implementation is my top priority.

This is important not only in increasing the public housing stock, but also in integration.

Produced by the Department of Special Supplements