"Even though the financial crisis is raising expectations that property values will fall, the opening of Road 431, which improves access to the east towards Jerusalem and north-south highway Road 6 (the Yitzhak Rabin Highway, or Cross-Israel Highway), will likely halt the slide in home values. Prices for ordinary homes, not in luxury high-rises, in Beer Yaakov, Ness Ziona, and southern Rishon LeZion will be affected," says property appraiser Ehud Hameiri, chairman of Ehud Hameiri & Co.
Hameiri says that Road 431 changes the regional road network, improving the quality of life in the area, which will boost property prices. He says, however, that as long as the real estate market stagnation persists, homebuyers and sellers will defer deals.
Hameiri cautioned that if unemployment rises, demand for homes and housing starts will fall. "Since prices are a function of supply and demand, in a few months we may find ourselves at the same level of prices, except in a shrunken market," he said.
Danya Cebus Ltd. (TASE: DNYA) opened the western section of Road 431 by Rishon LeZion last week, a couple of months after opening the eastern section between the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway and Modi'in. The central section between the highway and Rishon LeZion is still under construction.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 21, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008