Housing snapshot: Home sales and rentals across Israel

This week in our regular biweekly feature, The Times of Israel takes a look at housing prices in secondary locations — areas that have been growing rapidly, but with prices that have risen more slowly than those of their headline-grabbing neighbors.

These locations, near big cities, sometimes offer hard-to-find bargain prices for housing, especially in an overheated, undersupplied market.

By using the national property tax database, we look at the prices that people have really paid for homes (although property taxes can take a few months to come through the system).

1. Priced out of Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan? In neighboring Kiryat Ono, a three-bedroom (four-room) apartment sold on Hameyasdim Street, close to central parks and the shopping mall, for NIS 3,450,000 ($1,008,771) in late November. The apartment measures 108 square meters (1,163 square feet) and was built in 2002, on the second of nine floors with 34 apartments in total in the building. The apartment has two allocated parking spaces.

2. Another Tel Aviv alternative is Lod. In early December, a three-bedroom (four-room) apartment on Hanasi Street sold for NIS 1,400,000 ($406,386). The unit measures 95 square meters (1,022 square feet) and is on the second of seven floors in a building of 31 apartments built in 1970. There is one allocated parking space.

3. Staying outside of Tel Aviv, but firmly in Israel’s central district, in Ness Ziona a three-bedroom (four-room) apartment on Hakeramim Street sold in early November for NIS 2,925,000 ($819,557). The apartment measures 116 square meters (1,249 square feet) and is on the fourth of five floors in a building from 2008 of 19 apartments in total. There is one reserved parking space.

4. In Arad, close to Beersheba for those looking for city living in the south, an apartment on Yehuda Street in the center of town sold for NIS 700,000 ($203,193) in early December. The apartment has three bedrooms (four rooms) and 79 square meters (850 square feet). It was built in 1970 and is on the third of three floors in the building.

5. Afula offers good transport links to the north and to the center, and a housing market that has been rising from a historically low base. In early December, a three-bedroom (four room) apartment on Wolfson Street, halfway between the municipality and the football stadium, changed hands for NIS 1,375,000 ($402,410). The eighth-floor apartment was completed this year and covers 110 square meters (1,184 square feet). The building has 34 apartments in total across 10 floors.

6. In Binyamina, on the train line between Haifa and Tel Aviv, a family villa with four bedrooms (five rooms) sold last month for NIS 3,960,000 ($1,112,672). The house is on Ha’oren Street, in the northern part of town, and covers 183 square meters (1,970 square feet). It was built in 2020 and spreads over two floors.

7. On Ha’arbaa Boulevard in Beit She’an, within commuting distance of most of northern Israel, a three-bedroom (four-room) apartment sold for NIS 730,000 ($206,040) in the first half of November.  The apartment was built in 1986 and covers 125 square meters (1,345 square feet) on the second of three floors, with 57 apartments in the building.

8. In Tel Mond, close to Netanya and to the main north-south routes, a new four-bedroom (five-room) garden apartment sold for NIS 2,325,000 ($676,265) in mid-November. The building houses just four apartments in total and was completed this year on HaSaifan Street. The apartment covers 142 square meters (1,528 square feet) of living space, as well as rights to 216 square meters (2,325 square feet) of yard.

9. On HaAlmog Street in the northern part of Ma’ale Adumim, outside Jerusalem, a three-bedroom (four-room) apartment sold in late November for NIS 2,500,000 ($721,709). The apartment is on the second of five floors and measures 147 square meters (1,582 square feet). It was built in 2009 and includes one parking space and an 18-square-meter (194 square feet) yard.

10. Back in the center of the country, within a comfortable distance of the high-tech centers of Tel Aviv, Herzliya and Ra’anana, a three-bedroom (four-room) apartment measuring 118 square meters (1,270 square feet) on Hagra Street in Kfar Saba sold for NIS 2,800,000 ($828,647) in early December. Built in 1970, the apartment is on the second of four floors. The apartment comes with one parking space.

Rentals

Rental prices are increasing faster than average purchase costs, but they can still offer a way to live in more central locations for those not able to afford to buy.

The Times of Israel has taken a look at current prices in some of Israel’s most popular cities, working from Yad2, the most popular site for advertising housing options.

In central Tel Aviv, on Hagana Road, a three-bedroom (four-room) apartment is available to rent at a cost of NIS 7,100 ($2,078) a month. The apartment measures 90 square meters (969 square feet) and is on the second floor.

In neighboring Bat Yam, a larger three-bedroom (four-room) apartment can be found on Sokolov Street within walking distance of the beach and promenade for NIS 7,000 ($2,049) a month. It offers 110 square meters (1,184 square feet) of space, on the second of six floors, with a balcony, storage room, and a parking spot.

In Jerusalem, city center apartments are expensive, but in Pisgat Ze’ev there is a spacious three-bedroom (four-room) apartment available for NIS 5,400 ($1,580) per month. Located at ground level, the apartment offers 90 square meters (969 square feet) of accommodation and a 200 square meter (2,153 square feet) garden. Located on Imre Kalman Street, the apartment also has a storage unit.

On Moshe Gutel Levin Street in Haifa, a 100 square meter (1,076 square feet) apartment with three bedrooms (four rooms) is being offered for rent at NIS 5,200 ($1,522) per month. The unit, close to the Technion, was recently renovated and includes two balconies and a separate storage room.

In Beersheba on Nahum Sarig Street, a fully furnished three-bedroom (four-room) apartment is available for NIS 4,800 ($1,405) per month. It is on the fourth floor of five and measures 120 square meters (1,292 square feet) with a balcony.