"After every crisis, there is a boom. Happily, I've learned to go against the stream: when everyone sells, I buy, and vice versa," said Alrov (Israel) Ltd. (TASE: ALRO) chairman and CEO Alfred Akirov at the "Globes" Real Estate Conference 2009 today.
Akirov added, "Markets return. The question is who remains. All those who remain and continue to work will return all the money, the question is how long will it take. This isn't the first time that assets are undervalued. After all, how did all the tycoons make their money? They exploited low valuations; that's how they made their fortunes. Real estate will return; what is important is patience and stamina."
Fishman Holdings chairman Eliezer Fishman said, "Israel is undergoing a real estate crisis, so I don’t see what there is to get so excited about. In real estate, it's not possible to pack up an asset and move it elsewhere. There's a financial crisis, not a real estate crisis. In the US, there's a huge housing surplus. The solution is to hand out Green Cards, and then they'll be all right. I don’t see any problem with tenants in Germany."
When asked about debt recycling, Fishman replied, "There are a lot of opportunities. You have properties and for half of them you want to get credit, but there isn't any. French banks aren’t giving credit, but British banks are. Every country has its own craziness. This year, we'll finish financing all the money in Germany, where there are opportunities with returns of 8% a year. If you ask me, when will prices begin to rise, the answer is no more than six months.
"Therefore, Israelis will continue to buy abroad if they want to stay in this profession, because only 15,000 apartments are built here each year."
Eliezer Fishman is the controlling shareholder in “Globes”.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 1, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009