In a letter to Minister of Industry and Trade Dalia Itzik, Association of Real Estate Brokers in Israel (MALDAN) chairman Nachman Schechter wrote that the law banning the posting of prices in dollars appears to contradict the 1996 law requiring licensing of real estate brokers. This law says that a broker must act according to the customer's wishes.
Schechter asserted that the new law requires brokers to cite prices for apartments for sale or rent in shekels. In reality, however, apartment sellers and lessors demand prices in dollars, as reflected in hundreds of advertisements in the newspapers every week, including the past weekend.
According to Schechter, the brokerage law requires the broker to act according the customer's wishes and present the price in dollars. The broker thus stands between two contradictory laws.
Schechter asked Itzik for clear advice on what to do in this situation. Itzhik's response was unavailable as of web posting.
At the end of last week, developers and real estate owners continued publishing property prices of all kinds in dollars only, as they did before the new law came into effect last Thursday.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on June 17, 2002