Israel to offer 20,000 discounted homes to IDF reservists in coming years

The government has unveiled a new program aimed at expanding housing benefits for military reservists, promising approximately 20,000 discounted apartments or land parcels to be made available over the next two years.

Successful applicants could receive discounts of more than NIS 500,000 ($167,000) on a new home, the government says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Construction and Housing Minister Haim Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich say the program will provide about 16,000 apartments through the government’s Target Price program and roughly 4,000 plots for ground-level housing.

Israel’s “Target Price” program, formerly known as the “Buyer’s Price” program, provides eligible first-time homebuyers the opportunity to purchase new apartments at prices below market value through government-run lotteries. The program has increasingly included reservists among those receiving priority, with eligibility and preferential allocations determined by government criteria.

The announcement comes after strong demand from reservists in the latest discount apartment lottery, in which 25,354 reservists registered and 4,734 won apartments, the government says. In the latest program, reservists will receive priority for 75 percent of apartments offered.

The housing opportunities will become available during 2026 and 2027, the government says.