An 81 square meter three-room, first floor apartment in the Turquoise project on the coast in Jisr az-Zarqa, just north of Caesarea, sold for just NIS 701,000 in June. The price reflects just NIS 8,657 per square meter for the project being developed by Geshem Holdings. An investigation by "Globes" found that since the beginning of 2024, another five apartments have been sold in the project at similar prices.
However, in the same building three apartments were sold last year for NIS 4 million. Although these were much larger 206 square meter apartments, and three of them were penthouses, the apartments were only separated by three floors from the smaller apartments.
The most expensive apartment in the project was sold in June 2023 for NIS 4.55 million. But most of the smaller apartments in the project are being sold as part of the government subsidized Mechir Lemishtaken program, which also explains the wide gap in prices.
The project comprises 27 buildings, each four floors high, with 196 housing units overall. At its closest point, the project is just 100 meters from the seafront, although some of the apartments face inland.
Real estate appraiser Avigdor Minesse, who has worked for years in the region, says, "The beach at Jisr az-Zarqa is one of the most beautiful in the country and the view, mainly, from the penthouses explains the differences in price. I assume that the company makes most of the profit on these apartments, and on the garden apartments that sell for around NIS 2.5 million each. The 'middle apartments', on the mezzanine floors, are purchased at a very low price. The profit from them is apparently marginal when you take into account the construction expenses and the original value of the land."
Of the 196 apartments, of which 162 are Mechir Lemishtaken apartments, all of which have been sold. Out of 34 apartments at free market prices, only five have been sold, including the three penthouse apartments. "The profile of the buyer in the Turquoise project is quite diverse," say Geshem Holdings. "A significant number are investors, but there is also a major number of buyers who wish to live in the location and come from outside the settlement. Locals are also showing interest, although in smaller numbers compared to outside buyers."
Jisr az-Zarqa West will eventually include 522 housing units. There will also be 115 hotel rooms in the area as well as a camping site and surfing school. Geshem Holdings says, "One of the critical aspects of the project is the development of its infrastructure. Currently being built are public spaces, commercial spaces on the boardwalk along the beach, clinics, public buildings for religious purposes, as well as schools, kindergartens and daycare centers."
Jisr az-Zarqa is one of the poorest settlements in Israel ranked in the number two tier out of the country’s 10 socioeconomic tiers, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. Originally an Arab fishing village, Jisr az-Zarqa today has 15,700 residents, who have been required to ‘digest’ the new development and its growth.
Minesse says, "The neighborhood will continue to develop whether the local residents want it or not. Initially the residents were not enthusiastic about buying an apartment in the project but today it looks like the residents that have the money are beginning to move there. The new neighborhoods will be completely cut off from the settlement, just like the new expansions that are taking place in moshavim (agricultural cooperative villages), and so in my opinion it will also attract residents from other Arab towns."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 11, 2024.
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