A 188 square meter, six-room penthouse with a 115 square meter balcony on Modiin Street in Ashkelon has been sold for NIS 7.5 million. The penthouse is in Afgad’s Breeze project, 350 square meters southeast of the marina, two streets from the sea.
Units in the Dimri Yama project by Y.H. Dimri, built nearby but situated closer to the sea and directly facing the marina, are selling at prices of NIS 28,000 per square meter. In this project, penthouses have sold for 8-8.5 million shekels, ranking among the most expensive real estate deals ever recorded in the city.
The apartments in the marina project itself, situated in the "prime" front-row position facing the sea are older units built about 30 years ago. These typically consist of 2-3 room apartments, priced at NIS 18,000 per square meter.
The Breeze project has 175 apartments in three buildings - a 23-floor tower and two 10-floor buildings behind it.
Apgad began marketing the project in the second half of 2019, with prices starting at NIS 1.4 million for three-room apartments, NIS 1.5 million for four-room apartments, and around NIS 2 million for five-room apartments, depending on the specific building, floor, and view. Deals completed in the project over the past three years reflect price increases of tens of percent: three-room apartments sold for an average of NIS 1.75 million, four-room apartments for NIS 2.24 million, and five-room apartments for NIS 3.2 million.
Prices of the bigger apartments in the project have risen by a greater margin than those of the smaller apartments. Since the property is located slightly further from the sea, two streets away from the coast, prices are lower than those for homes directly facing the sea, averaging around NIS 22,000 per square meter.
This is the second deal involving this apartment. The first, signed about two years ago for a similar amount, ultimately fell through. In that instance, the buyer, a retiree, had conditioned the finalization of the deal on the sale of two other apartments she owned, which were intended to fund the purchase.
However, the buyer was unable to sell those apartments. Late last year, she was forced to cancel the deal, and the apartment reverted to the developer, Afgad.
The current buyer is a foreign resident who purchased the apartment for the exact same price: NIS 7.5 million.
The story of these two transactions offers insight into the challenging housing market of recent years. The initial buyer was unable to sell her own properties over a period of more than a year, while the developer did not raise the price of the penthouse from the previous deal.
This is an unusual transaction, especially given the current climate. Only a handful of deals exceeding NIS 7 million have been recorded in the city this year.
The price per square meter for the apartment comes to about NIS 32,000. This is quite reasonable, considering it is a penthouse just one street back from the sea, offering a sea view, and that the price is identical to what it was two years ago, which effectively represents a real-term decline in price.
Afgad VP marketing Yael Dekel says, "This deal shows just how significantly proximity to the sea influences a property's value. An identical penthouse, of the same size and with the same level of finishes, would sell for roughly half the price in a different part of the city." She adds that the buyers are a US Jewish couple, who currently plan to split their time between Israel and the US.
"In our project, non-residents account for over 20% of the buyers. I estimate that this ratio holds true for other projects near the sea in this city as well. The buyers visited the apartment only once; everything else, from the negotiations to the final signing, was handled remotely," she adds.
Regarding the state of the market, Dekel observes: "In the luxury segment, buyers are less sensitive to financing terms and market fluctuations. They arrive well-informed, make comparisons, and expect a high-quality building, personalized service, and specifications that align with the standards they are familiar with from abroad, even outside of Tel Aviv."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 25, 2026.
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