A new analysis by Yad2 shows that apartments with a fortified shelter room, known in Hebrew as a mamad, now command sharply higher rents than similar units without one. The company reviewed thousands of rental listings and found gaps of tens of percent in monthly rent, both in a direct comparison of May-June 2026 listings and in year-over-year comparisons with the same period in 2025.
The trend accelerated after the war period known as Operation With the Lion, when missile strikes on the Israeli home front heightened public demand for safety. A preliminary check in summer 2025 had already found an 11% increase in rents for apartments with a mamad, and a Finance Ministry chief economist review cited by Globes in May said about 80% of second-hand transactions in March were for such apartments. That demand has now reached the rental market as well.
The strongest differences were seen in three-room apartments. In Ashkelon, average rent for a three-room apartment without a mamad was NIS 2,764 in May-June 2025, compared with NIS 4,144 for a similar apartment with a mamad in May-June 2026. In Afula, the year-over-year gap was 45%, from NIS 2,521 to NIS 3,667. Other large annual gaps included 43% in Bat Yam and 42% in Herzliya, both for four-room apartments. In Tel Aviv, the gap was about 28% for four-room units and 40% for three-room units; in Jerusalem it was 20% and 29%, respectively.
Current comparisons for May-June 2026 show similarly wide spreads. In Afula, the rent gap between three-room apartments with and without a mamad is about 48%. The difference is about 37% in four-room apartments in Beersheba, about 36% in three-room apartments in Bat Yam and Petah Tikva, and about 35% in four-room apartments in Herzliya, Hadera and Ashkelon. Tel Aviv-Yafo shows a 22% gap in four-room apartments and 34% in three-room units, while Jerusalem shows about 21% in both. Across all surveyed cities, the gap is at least 15%, except in Bnei Brak, where the difference is 7% for four-room apartments.
Yad2 said the annual comparison is also affected by a broader rise in rents nationwide. Since October 7, monthly rent has risen 7% overall. In May, the housing services index rose 0.8%, with renewing tenants paying 2.5% more and new tenants facing a 6.8% jump. Since the second half of 2025, new tenants have been paying 5.5% more on average. Over the past year, the housing services index rose 4% and average national rent increased 3.2%. Sima Azoulay, CEO of Yad2’s second-hand real estate division, said, "In times of uncertainty, tenants are willing to pay a lot for security, so the rental market is pricing the mamad more than ever."
