A billion shekels – this is the unimaginable sum devoted to the umbrella agreement plan, which was supposed to be a central solution to the growing housing crisis in Israel. According to the plan, initiated ten years ago by then-Finance Minister Yair Lapid, the state undertakes to inject a budget for the development of new neighborhoods and the renewal of infrastructure in older neighborhoods, and in return local authorities will allow construction at an accelerated pace.
Former State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman did not spare his tribe in a special report he prepared on 32 local authorities that signed umbrella agreements with the state. According to the comptroller's report, the Israeli government's main plan to increase the supply of apartments has failed.
The great concern is that the failure of the plan will lead to a catastrophe whereby the government will not be able to meet the country's housing needs of about one and a half million apartments by 2040.
It all began a decade ago, when Lapid's housing cabinet renewed the umbrella agreements that were in place in the 90s. Their goal was to provide the local authority with the means and government backing to build large neighborhoods with tens of thousands of housing units. The first agreement was signed with the Kiryat Gat municipality for the construction of the Carmei Gat neighborhood, and since then another 32 roof agreements have been signed, under which dozens of new neighborhoods have been built throughout the country.
Since then, a lot of water has passed through the river, and the issue of roof agreements has even reached the court's doorstep. We set out to examine what the real estate market says about the effectiveness of roof agreements, about the new neighborhoods that were built, and also: did they contribute to the increase in the value of the apartments sold in them?
Kiryat Gat
Construction halted due to considerations
Foreigners and invalids
About a month ago, Minister of Construction and Housing, Yitzhak Goldknopf, and Israel Land Authority Director General Yanky Quint received an urgent warning letter before taking legal action from the Kiryat Gat municipality. The letter claims that a serious breach of the umbrella agreements signed with it was committed, which will cost the municipality and taxpayers hundreds of millions of shekels. According to the municipality, it accepted with astonishment the decision of the Supreme Projects Committee "which rejects in a flagrant manner all the agreements reached between us, and constitutes a grave violation of the umbrella agreements." The decision against which the municipality is issuing a halt to all marketing in the new neighborhood currently being built in Kiryat Gat, the Carmei Gat neighborhood west and north, as well as the commercial areas in the stadium complex – and this, according to the municipality, is the result of "extraneous considerations and improper reasons in favor of establishing ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in the western part of the city, instead of neighborhoods for the general public."
The absurdity is that Kiryat Gat pioneered umbrella agreements with the state, and to date has signed three umbrella agreements. However, the road was not easy, and already after the signing of the first umbrella agreement, the municipality claimed that it was discriminated against compared to other cities, and embarked on a struggle against the state that reached the High Court of Justice. In a petition it filed with the High Court of Justice, the municipality demanded equal payments, receipt of sufficient funding for the construction of public institutions, and a promise to pave an access road to the Carmei Gat neighborhood, which includes 7,000 housing units. The municipality succeeded in the struggle, and the Carmei Gat neighborhood was built and is considered a great success. Since then, the municipality has signed two more umbrella agreements, but is currently waging another battle over the third umbrella agreement.
Nof HaGalil
Also taken care of
For the Haredi Population
As part of the implementation of the umbrella agreement signed with Nof Galilee in November 2022, it was decided to build 7,000 new housing units for the general public, against the background of the vigorous development activities carried out in recent years in the city with a large public investment, including the construction of a public park that has already been opened to the public.
The Noga project in the Galilee landscape of the Barel Group, photo: ASSAO Architects,
The umbrella agreement is expected to increase the population of Nof HaGalil by 40%. Mayor Ronen Plott claims that "the latest lottery data from the Ministry of Construction and Housing indicate a high demand for apartments, for every house marketed there are dozens of bidders, in light of the tremendous renewal of the city."
Only recently did the Committee for Priority Areas for Housing and Development (the National Committee for Housing and Development) decide to deposit, as part of an umbrella agreement, a huge plan for the construction of a new residential neighborhood, Har Yona G. The plan includes 3,000 housing units and another 500 special housing units and assisted living intended for marketing to the ultra-Orthodox population. The buildings were planned with several entrances and fewer floors in order to facilitate mobility on Shabbat, in order to meet the needs of Haredi society. In addition to planning streets and passageways that emphasize pedestrians, the plan allows for the construction of elevators (mass transit structures) in order to bridge the topography gaps in the neighborhood.
Sheva
Updated Roof Agreement – A Success Story
The Be'er Sheva Municipality signed the first umbrella agreement in 2015, in which it undertook to build about 20,9 housing units. It built about 000,<> housing units in new, high-quality neighborhoods, and then froze the agreement due to the lack of adequate infrastructure for the neighborhoods to be built.
Yaakov Avinu Renewal Complex in Be'er Sheva, Africa Israel Residences, Electra Residences, BSR Group Simulation: Peled Kimmelman Architects,
In 2022, the municipality signed an extension with the Ministries of Housing and Finance to allow construction to continue. In the renewed agreement, the municipality demanded not only budgets for development and infrastructure in the new neighborhoods, but also budgets and tools that would enable it to renew the old neighborhoods in the heart of the city.
The Be'er Sheva Municipality emphasizes that the umbrella agreement focuses on the renewal of the older neighborhoods and the city's core and includes solutions for critical issues such as the allocation of complementary land for evacuation-construction projects, renewal of infrastructure, upgrading transportation and employment solutions, and the establishment of educational institutions.
Among the new neighborhoods that have been built: Pisgat Ramot, which includes 3,700 housing units, and the Cyclamen neighborhood, which will be a neighborhood of villas with a rural character in the north of the city and will include about 4,000 housing units.
Blocks
First umbrella agreement
Urban Renewal
The umbrella agreement with Rehovot is different from the other umbrella agreements in the country, since almost all of it is intended to enable urban renewal in the city's Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. The renewal plan in the neighborhood covers about 1,500 dunams in the southwest of the city and includes more than 10,1 housing units that will replace 300,<> old apartments.
Kiryat Moshe neighborhood in Rehovot Simulation: Bar Levy Architects and Town Planners,
As part of the agreement, alongside the standard resources, substantial sums will be allocated for the development of the neighborhood and other parts of the city, with the agreement also including subsidies for urban renewal developers for the first time. Thus, instead of extreme residential density, construction at a multiplier of 3 will be allowed, and all the balance required for economic evacuation-construction is closed by a government grant fund, whose coffers have been filled from marketing state land.
לדברי ניסים סלמן, מנכ"ל החברה לפיתוח רחובות, ״תוספות הוצאות פיתוח מבורכת ככל שתהיה לא פותרת את סוגיית הגירעון השוטף של הרשויות המקומיות, הנובעת מגירעון בסיסי ליחידת דיור. וכך, שיווק מסיבי של אלפי יחידות דיור ללא צמיחה כלכלית תואמת של שטחי תעסוקה, מחריף בעתיד את מצבן של הרשויות״.
יבנה
מתכון להרס עיר
לפי הסכם הגג שנחתם בין המדינה לעיריית יבנה באוגוסט 2016, יבנו בעיר כ-15,500 דירות. עד כה מומשו כ-2,700 דירות ראשונות בשכונת נאות שמיר שבמערב העיר, מרביתן במסגרת מחיר למשתכן.
לפני כשלוש שנים עיריית יבנה ביטלה חד צדדית את הסכם הגג תחת הכותרת: "מתכון ברור להרס העיר". הסכם הגג אמור היה להביא להכפלת מספר התושבים בעיר ל־100 אלף איש, ואז הודיעו בעירייה כי הם מתחרטים. ראש עיריית יבנה המנוח, צבי גוב-ארי ז"ל, שלח מכתב לשרי האוצר, השיכון, מנכ"ל רמ"י ויו"ר מטה הדיור, בו הודיע כי לא ימלא אחר ההסכם עקב התעלמות הרשויות הממשלתיות מצרכי העיר והמחויבויות הנגזרות מהבנייה המואצת ביבנה. במכתבו הגדיר גוב-ארי את הצעד שנקט כ"פעולת להצלת עתידה של העיר".
רק לאחרונה ביטל רמ״י מכרז מחיר מטרה שתושבי יבנה ציפו לו בציפייה דרוכה ל-2,500 יחידות דיור, בטענה כי המהלך נעשה ״מתוך רצון למזער נזקים ולמנוע חשיפה מיותרת של כל הצדדים למהמורות אפשריות בהמשך".
לוד
אוכלוסיית העיר תוכפל
ממערב העיר לוד, על קרקעות אשר הועברו ממושב ניר צבי, מקודמת התכנית הגדולה ביותר במסגרת הסכם הגג - "הרובע הבינלאומי". השכונה החדשה צפויה לכלול 11,350 יחידות דיור, 154 אלף מ"ר של שטחי מסחר, 48 אלף מ"ר של תעסוקה ו-704 דונם של שטחים פתוחים. בעקבות הסכם הגג ומהלכים נוספים המיושמים ברחבי העיר, תוכפל אוכלוסיית לוד בתוך פחות מעשור.
פרויקט קדמת ניר צבי ,אבני דרך הדמיה : אסף פרץ,
ההסכם כולל תקציבים משמעותיים לפרויקטים בתחומי החינוך, התשתיות, התחבורה, הביטחון האישי, התיירות, המרחב ציבורי, עיר חכמה ועוד.
פרויקט אבני דרך בלוד הדמיה: אסף פרץ,
עו"ד יאיר רביבו, ראש העיר לוד: "אנו מקדמים במקביל למעלה מ-100 פרויקטים ברחבי העיר, כאשר 86% משטחי העיר מצויים בתהליכי תכנון. המהפכה של העיר לוד היא אחד המהלכים המוניציפליים המשמעותיים בישראל, מצוידת בהשקעה ממשלתית משמעותית במסגרת הסכם הגג בהיקף של 8.5 מיליארד שקלים".
קבוצת אבני דרך הינה היזמית הראשונה שהתחילה לבנות בסמוך לשכונה את פרויקט "קדמת ניר צבי". הפרויקט בעיצומו של הבנייה כאשר הקוטג'ים בפרויקט לקראת סיום בנייה ואילו שאר הפרויקט בתהליך ביצוע. הוא כולל 251 יחידות דיור ב-13 בניינים ו-72 צמודי קרקע, סה"כ 323 יחידות, מתוכן כ-72 יחידות צפויות להתאכלס במהלך שנת 2023.
אור יהודה
"העיר עשתה קפיצה אדירה"
רק לפני כשנה ראשת העיר ירוחם טל אוחנה וצוותה הגיעו לאור יהודה על מנת ללמוד כיצד לנצל הסכם גג בהצלחה רבה. הסכם הגג באור יהודה יביא להרחבת העיר ב-50% וכן לתוספת של 1.1 מיליון מ"ר שטחי תעסוקה ומסחר. כמו כן, במסגרת הסכם הגג מבוצעות עבודות פיתוח באזור התעסוקה הדרומי, מוקמים כ-200 אלף מ"ר של שטחי תעסוקה וסביב העיר נבנה מנגנון ניקוז שיהווה פתרון למניעת הצפות ושיטפונות.
הסכם הגג - שכונת בית בפארק באור יהודה צילום : דוברות עיריית אור יהודה,
ראשת העיר, ליאת שוחט: ״ההסכם באור יהודה מתבסס על אגרות והיטלי הפיתוח, כלומר להבדיל משאר הסכמי הגג, רשות מקרקעי ישראל העניקה לרשות עצמאות בניהול הפרויקטים והתזרים, וכך נוצרת מפת אינטרסים משותפת לטובת יישום מלא של התכניות. בחלוף שש שנים מהמועד שבו חתמנו על ההסכם, אני יכולה להגיד בוודאות שהעיר עשתה קפיצה אדירה עם הקמת שכונות חדשות ושדרוג התשתיות. יחד עם זאת, עדיין קיימים אתגרים רבים בדמות אתגרי התחבורה והתשתיות שאינם באחריות העירייה. הקצב שבו אנחנו עובדים הוא שונה מהקצב של משרדי הממשלה, למשל אנחנו יכולים להקים שכונה חדשה אבל כביש הגישה אליה הוא באחריות חברת נת"ע, שלא תמיד מבינה עד הסוף את הצרכים".
חולון
הסכם גג לתחבורה
הסכם הגג בחולון מתמקד במענה תחבורתי לעיר, בהשקעה המוערכת בכ-420 מיליון שקלים. העיר תרושת בצירי תנועה מועדפים לתחבורה ציבורית וישופר השירות בין חלקי העיר השונים, תתוגבר תדירות האוטובוסים ויורחבו שעות הפעילות.
מדובר בפוטנציאל של כ-20 קילומטרים של נתיבי תחבורה ציבורית, שיבוצעו בטווח הקצר והבינוני, בצירים המרכזיים וברחובות הראשיים של העיר. התכנית תעודד במקביל גם את ההליכה בעיר באמצעות הצללת מדרכות, התקנת תאורה, גינון ושמירה על נגישות ובטיחות. בנוסף, יוקמו מסופים וחניוני לילה חדישים הכוללים עמדות ריענון לנהגים, בשטח כולל של כ-260 דונם.
לאורך כל צירי הנת"צים יסללו גם שבילי אופניים ועוד שישה קילומטרים של שבילי אופניים יבנו בצירים מרכזיים באזורי המגורים ובאזור העסקים. מסלולי האופניים והתחבורה הציבורית יחוברו ישירות למוקדי ביקוש ובהם תחנת הרכבת, מוקדי תעסוקה, מוסדות חינוך ועוד.
דימונה
לא מפחדים מבנייה רחבת היקף
If you are on your way to Eilat, our recommendation: stop by for a visit to Dimona. In recent years, new infrastructure and neighborhoods have been built in the city at an investment of billions of shekels. The highlight is the umbrella agreement signed with the state, which grants the city NIS 5.5 billion over a decade, while building 30,130 housing units. In addition, dozens of new factories were built, a country club and an artificial lake with a huge amphitheater, at an investment of more than NIS <> million.
Dimona , Photo: Shutterstock,
The Dimona umbrella agreement is massive and aims to triple the size of the city in the coming years and establish 17 commercial and employment complexes. The city is home to about 40,100 people, and the additional housing units will lead to an increase in the population of up to <>,<> within a decade.
Horizons
What about educational institutions?
A large neighborhood that is being built today as part of the umbrella agreements is the "Afiki Nahal" neighborhood in Ofakim. The new neighborhood covers a huge area of about 7,000 dunams and is expected to include 7,300 housing units and 520 protected housing units. It is located in the eastern part of Ofakim, east of the Park neighborhood, and its development began over a year ago. The problem in Ofakim, like other places in Israel, is that rapid development leads to a shortage of classrooms.
However, if in the past the development of the neighborhoods was often carried out only after the contractors completed construction, today thanks to the umbrella agreement, the development of the neighborhood has already begun in its northwestern part and includes public buildings, public safety plans, commerce and employment. "The big advantage is for tenants who understand that when they enter the apartments, the neighborhood with the final development will already provide them with a high standard of living and quality of life even before receiving the key," says Sharon Didi, who markets apartments in Horshat Noah in Ofakim.
Ashdod
Hope for the young couples?
Ashdod currently has about a quarter of a million residents, but it is expected to expand and grow with at least another 100,<> new residents in the coming years. Before the signing of the umbrella agreement, it was accepted that Ashdod had no land available for construction, with only a few new housing units being marketed each year. At the same time, there was an increase in prices and a negative migration of young couples out of the city, mainly Ashkelon.
of the Aqua Park project in Ashdod, Amram Avraham Company. Simulation: Studio 84,
As part of the umbrella agreement signed by Ashdod, thousands more housing units will be built in the city, new neighborhoods will be built, projects will be built in the older quarters, and the highlight is undoubtedly the Lachish Park district, where alone about 3000,<> apartments and a new sports complex will be built.
"Young couples for whom the city of Ashdod is very expensive can now recalculate their route and plan the purchase of their apartment in the city thanks to the roof agreement," says Eyal Davidovitch, head of the roof agreement administration." The construction of thousands of new housing units will also enable those improving their quality of life within the city and not leave it," he adds.
Acre
Income-producing area for businesses
As part of the umbrella agreement signed in 2017 between the Acre Municipality, the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Finance, it was agreed to build 17,780 new housing units. For example, the Sha'arei Akko neighborhood in East Jerusalem is expected to house about 30,8 new residents in 000,380 housing units, and will also contain 152 dunams of industrial, employment and commercial zones. About 15 dunams of commercial and employment plots have already been marketed to 6 developers, including Rami Levy, Ayala Agam and more. The prices of the lots for the commercial areas were sold in the range of NIS 5.30 million to NIS 445 million. The total potential of these business plots stands at 85,30 square meters, and their strategic location is near Highway <>, which creates an immediate connection to the Krayot bypass and the renewed Haifa Port. At the same time, a huge project, Ayala Sha'arei Acre, of <>,<> square meters of offices and commerce, is currently being marketed, which is expected to significantly increase the number of employment places in Acre and attract new audiences.
Acre Mayor Shimon Lankri: "The signing of the umbrella agreements led to a real revolution in the city, which is currently undergoing a construction boom the likes of which have not been known for many years. The construction momentum, alongside the development momentum in tourism, will turn Acre into one of the most sought-after cities in Israel."
Beer Yaakov
How do you turn a colony into a city?
Be'er Yaakov is one of the localities that made the most significant leap in the past decade. It is certain that Be'er-Yaakov's founders did not dream of an umbrella agreement. They purchased its lands with their own money, not from donations from Baron Rothschild. Over the years, until the establishment of the State of Israel, Be'er Yaakov was run as an agricultural colony. The upheaval in the community came with the umbrella agreement, after it "beat nearby Rishon LeZion 1-0". According to the agreement, close to 80% of the areas of the vacated Zrifin bases will be annexed to Be'er Yaakov, where over 12,100 housing units are being built in new neighborhoods, as well as a huge high-tech and logistics industrial park of about two million square meters. According to the agreement, the population of the community will increase to <>,<> people. Some of the land is allocated for urban renewal in older neighborhoods.
Be'er Yaakov , Shutterstock Photo,
Nissim Gozlan, Mayor of Be'er Yaakov: "Be'er Yaakov is experiencing a momentum of growth and development with urban characteristics that are reflected in intensive high-density construction, mixed uses, urban renewal, business centers and regional public institutions."
um al-Fahm
First roof agreement for an Arab city
The first umbrella agreement signed with an Arab community was executed with the municipality of um al-Fahm, a city known to be complex in terms of security. The agreement will add another 15,57 housing units to the third largest city in the Arab sector and is expected to double its population, which currently numbers about 000,800 people. The total amount of investment in the development of the city is NIS 26 million. In um al-Fahm, which covers an area of <>,<> dunams, only about half of the land is state land and the rest is private land.
um al-Fahm Photo: Moataz1997 Wikipedia,
The main development work will focus on the bridge over Highway 65, paving new roads and arranging existing roads in the city. In addition, drainage solutions will be regulated, parks and public areas will be established, and electricity and communication infrastructures will be relocated.
Do umbrella agreements raise the prices of apartments in the neighborhood?
The umbrella agreements have an indirect effect on apartment prices in the new neighborhoods. The advantage of the umbrella agreement neighborhoods is that they are independent neighborhoods with new infrastructure, meticulous development and public and educational buildings that improve the residents' quality of life.
In many cases, the neighborhoods are a source of attraction both for those improving housing from the city itself and for outside audiences, who see the new neighborhood as separate from the original city, which sometimes suffers from a less positive image. In these cases, it seems that the average prices in the new neighborhoods outside the city centers are actually higher.
An examination by real estate appraiser Shmulik Cohen, co-owner and CEO of SK Appraisal, shows that in the Ben Shemen neighborhood of Lod, the average price per square meter in transactions over the past year is NIS 21,602, compared to NIS 17,262 per square meter in new projects in the city center – a gap of about 20%.
Aura Ben Shemen Simulation for illustration purposes only Simulation : viewpoint,
In Afula's C1 neighborhood, the average price per square meter in transactions carried out in the past year is NIS 11,601, compared with NIS 10,801 per square meter in new projects in the city center.
On a side note, it is important to note that this is a phenomenon that also characterizes large and independent neighborhoods that were built outside the framework of umbrella agreements, but umbrella agreement neighborhoods have the additional advantage of early development and advance budgeting of public and educational institutions.
However, sometimes a situation can arise in which within the framework of umbrella agreements, the state markets land for the construction of thousands of housing units to a large number of developers simultaneously, which creates a high supply and causes competition between developers that requires them to market the apartments at prices lower than the prices in the city center at the time. Still, over time, as the neighborhood succeeds in providing services to its residents and the phenomenon of housing improvements within the neighborhood begins, prices can rise.
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