The IsraTransfer company, which represents foreign residents and Israelis doing business in Israel, reports that it had been involved in seven real estate transactions in Jerusalem on behalf of foreign residents this month.
The company reported that six US residents from New York and Los Angeles had made deals. One of them bought three apartments in the luxury Jerusalem Estates project on the Schneller site in Jerusalem for a total of NIS 19 million.
Jerusalem Estates is located on the Schneller site next to the Romema neighborhood, where the residents are mostly haredi (ultra-Orthodox). Valimir International bought the land in an Israeli Land Authority (ILA) tender in 2013. The apartments in the luxury complex, which have areas varying from 120 to 200 sq.m., are being marketed to the haredi community starting at $1 million, reflecting $35,000 per sq.m.
"Our goal as a company is to provide good currency-exchange services to English-speakers who encounter difficulties in transacting financial business with Israeli banks," says IsraTransfer business development manager Daniel Eisenberg. "Last month, the company was involved in 20 different real estate deals throughout the country, seven of which took place in the Jerusalem area.
"Most of the transactions we handled this past month fell in the range of NIS 2.5 million to 10 million, mainly in the Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Modi’in, Netanya, and Ra’anana areas. At the end of the day, foreign residents who want to conduct currency transfers find a real solution in our company. After all, it’s an audience that doesn’t understand Hebrew or Israeli culture at all, not to mention economic issues, contracts, and rates - that’s why we’re here."
Land appraiser and economist Yaron Spector comments, "Deals of this type prove that the luxury housing market in Israel is still alive and fascinating investors in Israel and overseas, even though the government's policy has cut the volume of real estate purchases by investors and foreign residents by 23% and 36%, respectively.
"Note that the luxury housing market works differently in the haredi sector. The absence of projects in this population group attracts a group that buys more than one housing unit without making distinctions, almost automatically. They realize that projects for wealthy people in the haredi sector are almost non-existent. These are people with money, and if they find a way to move it to Israel despite the existing restrictions, they are glad to invest it mainly in real estate."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on January 30, 2017
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