Stop with the discounted plans in demand areas Israel today

About two weeks ago, the governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Yaron Amir, submitted to the government the economic strategic plan that the bank believes should be adopted in order to lead to economic growth in Israel.

Alex Mariash, General Manager of the Yishuv Training, Teva'ot, Photo: Real Estate Media Group

The program is quite melancholic and presents a bleak situation concerning the socio-economic situation of Israeli citizens:

the standard of living in Israel is lower than the average compared to the OECD countries (in 18th place out of 40 countries);

Labor productivity in Israel is low compared to the OECD countries - they work more and produce less;

The skills of the population in Israel are low compared to the other countries;

Student achievement in Israel is low and the socio-economic gap is high.

And what is happening in the housing sector?

The data is known: apartment prices have increased by 100% in the last decade and are very high in relation to wages.

So what are the plans of the Bank of Israel?

Continue to increase the supply of housing, work to develop the infrastructure, increase the income of the local authorities and continue to encourage projects for urban renewal.

All in all, there is nothing new under the sun.

But when you go down to the field and meet the professionals, the reality is more encouraging: "I come here to hear, and this is the first time I participate in such a meeting," said the incoming Minister of Construction and Housing, Yitzhak Goldknopf, at the first working meeting of the top of the real estate industry held at

initiative Media Real Estate' and with the participation of the CEO of the Israel Land Authority, Yankee Quint, senior executives and CEOs of other companies.

One on one with Ofer Petersburg at a special CEO meeting, photo: Real Estate Media Group

Later, the minister revealed his plans in the field of housing, and announced the establishment of a housing cabinet: "The purpose of the housing cabinet is to remove barriers.

This is part of the work, so that we can continue to build, but I discovered that there is an obstacle that I did not know - mayors who are not interested in promoting construction.

I'm asking you, lend a hand, I want to build for the citizens of Israel, the soldiers of the IDF, for disabled and broken people. I'll take care of incentives for you, but don't be a barrier."

"I estimate that more housing units will be built this year than in previous years," the minister added.

"The ministry is working to release thousands more apartments that will receive a discount. We will continue with this doubling and we will reach an apartment tax this year that has not yet been in Israel.

Together with my partners who have already put the points on the map, some of them have already agreed on umbrella agreements.

We are coming to bring salvation to all of Israel and we will make every effort wherever possible to erect buildings and apartments."

Regarding rental housing, he said: "Long-term rental is also part of the solution and we have grandiose plans that include investments from Israel and abroad that want to enter the field. We are working and working on a special plan that will be good for contractors, entrepreneurs and investors so that we can provide many apartments for rent as well, as an agenda that every person will have a roof over his head.'

A meeting of the top of the real estate industry at the initiative of Real Estate Media, photo: Real Estate Media Israel Group

The special meeting was attended by the chairman of the Histadrut of the Building and Related Industries Workers' Union and the president of the Foundation for Encouragement, Itzik Moyal, who opened the event;

Partner and manager of Foundation Foundations, Yaakov Siso;

The owner of 'Paz Erez Economics and Engineering', the appraiser and economist Daniela Paz-Erez as well as real estate company owners, entrepreneurs and mayors.

All of them spoke in unison and called for the discounted programs to be stopped and the periphery to be prioritized.

Yitzchak Moyal, Chairman of the Histadrut Ovedi Ovedi Ovedi Bijl and Related Industries and M.M. President of the Foundation for the Encouragement and Development of the Construction Industry in Israel, Photo: Real Estate Media Israel Group

Yitzhak Moyal,

"There is a very serious failure when it comes to workers in the construction industry.

This failure is also related to the increase in prices, both to safety issues and to the lack of manpower in the industry.

More than 40,000 professional workers and more than 3,000 foremen are missing today.

There are 14.5 thousand construction sites in Israel, and a large part of them without a foreman.

Yair Cohen, founder and CEO of Avni Derech, with Israel Pasternak, CEO of Real Estate Media, photo: Real Estate Media Group

There is a lack of engineers, engineers, the entire professional avenue of the construction industry.

It is also related to the issue of safety, because if there is a lack of workers, then they go to the intersection, bring a van and load it, and then wonder why they fall off the scaffolding.

The training industry has failed miserably.

We need to prepare a long-term plan for training professional workers to improve the quality of construction."

Yigal Demari, photo: Real Estate Media Group

Yigal Dimari

"The time has come for the state to sober up and issue tenders for a price per resident or a target price only in the periphery, not in Modi'in, not in Rishon Lezion and not in Ashdod.

I would even double the grant for young couples who move to the outskirts.

In Modi'in and Tel Aviv they will issue tenders in the free market, paying as much as possible, so that a lot of money will come into the state and the peripheral cities can be subsidized.

That way we won't hear any more stories of buyers who bought a discounted apartment in Modiin and are doing 'business'."

Shai Abu Hachira, CEO of Sela Binui, photo: Real Estate Media Group

Shai Abuhchira

"The state publishes a minimum price for the value of the land, but in practice entrepreneurs come and offer high prices and the state benefits from this.

One of the barriers is mayors.

A certain percentage of the state's income from land should be transferred to the local authorities, who will be able to develop the city and on the condition that the local authority be limited to complying with the schedule for issuing building permits, in order to speed up the rate of issuing permits.

That way the money will return to the public, and to environmental development."

Mario Zozel,

During Ariel Sharon's time we built endlessly, there wasn't half of the nonsense that is here today.

In the Naot Peres neighborhood in Haifa we sit on a plot of land of 500 units, in the media it looks good, but in practice no building permits are issued and nothing can be built.

The authorities don't even want to give an information sheet.

So why marketers?

Hundreds of millions of shekels are being taken from us, with a 60-day payment deadline, I part with the money, but the contract states that the land will be handed over in about 18 months.

At the moment we are not being handed over because of wars between local authorities and in the meantime we are paying interest.

The tenant will pay for it.

Bring me the goods."

Haim Feiglin

"We are in a country that will exceed 10 million people in 2023.

In 2050, we will cross the 20 million population mark.

This is Israel's growth, it doubles itself every generation.

There is no such situation to neglect 60% of the territory of the State of Israel south of Be'er Sheva and leave there an abandoned, wild west and zero population.

We need to get a proposal from the decision makers to establish a city in the Negev, south of Beer Sheva, and bring 4 million residents to the place.

So Dimona will also prosper.

At the moment Dimona is a suburb of nowhere and it needs to be a major city.

The Negev cannot be neglected.

Only thanks to the Negev will Gush Dan have a chance, because it is impossible to develop Gush Dan without reducing the demand for the Negev, and only there should benefits be given."

Ronen Plott

"All the discounted programs became a business and that was not the goal.

No one obliges the person who won the lottery to live in the apartment he won, so he can rent the property and make a business out of it, a cash register for himself, and it comes at the expense of another family.

The Ministry of Housing must put an end to this.

It cannot be that someone who buys a discounted apartment, will not use it, and will later earn 4 times. The winners should be required to live in the apartments they won.

After all, they received the apartment as a gift from the state"

Yaacov Siso

Yaakov Siso read from a regular program how housing prices can be reduced, and emphasized, among other things, the importance of increasing public housing.

"When I was little, most of the apartments in Dimona belonged to Amidar.

Today there are no such apartments.

Sold them and did not increase the stock back.

In development and peripheral areas where the land rights are of low value, the government will be able to subsidize part of the price of the land or development and receive apartments from the developer in return.

With this method, the state does not give up its rights but increases and you can decide what it does with the apartments you receive.

Should you manage the apartments through an apartment for rent, offer to vulnerable populations at a reduced price, cooperate with REIT funds, or sell the apartments to disadvantaged populations.

The proposed marketing method will renew the pool of public apartments."

Daniela Paz Erez

"Remi and rental apartment tenders are closed at lower prices than similar rental tenders that were closed about a year ago," said Paz-Erez.

"These projects require a favorable interest rate environment.

When the interest rate was low, she brought the developers to tenders.

Today, these yields do not meet the financing capacity that was there before, and therefore we see that the last marketings that came out were closed at half the price compared to those that were closed about six months ago.

Other countries provide long-term interest protection.

The same should be done in Israel, giving a state guarantee and financing at a low interest rate or protecting the interest rate."

Yankee Quint,

"I agree with regard to public housing, to make a combination deal through the land.

That was my opinion before.

In the end, the amounts that the state brings in from RMI tenders should be used for economic policy.

The state can influence the rental market, can influence public housing and urban renewal where there is no economic viability.

There is an argument with the Treasury on this issue.

We think that we should use the land rewards, and they are constantly reducing our room for maneuver."

with the mayors.

From the right: Mayor of Givatayim, Ran Konik, Ronan Plot, Mayor of Nof HaGalil, Haim Broida, Mayor of Ra'anana, Minister Goldknopf, Quint (R.M.I.), Mayor of Dimona, Benny Biton, Haim Feiglin, Vice President of the Contractors Association, Fini Badash, head of the Omer Council, and Liat Shochat, mayor of Or Yehuda, photo: Real Estate Media Group

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