Israeli Real Estate Lawyers Say Uncertainty Is Reshaping Deals, Rentals and Planning

Top real estate lawyers and industry figures said at the Duns 100 forum that Israel’s property market is operating under prolonged uncertainty driven by war, interest rates, weak transactions and a widening gap between planning and execution.

Shira Zbaro Weiss of Duns 100 said the residential market has reached a two-year peak in unsold apartments, while permits and construction starts have risen only modestly. She said renewal projects are seeing a 20% drop in permits versus 2024, many approved projects are being rechecked for developer compensation, and the office market is stagnant because of the slowdown in high tech. In her view, the market has entered an era of selectivity, where quality planning matters more than volume.

Several lawyers said deal structures are changing. Dani Vichlevsky said six years of uncertainty, starting with COVID-19 and continuing through the war, have pushed buyers and lenders to demand more certainty, force majeure language and broader risk hedging. Vered Tzror Gershi stressed that leases in income-producing assets shape asset value, financing and appeal, and warned that speed cannot replace due diligence. Ran BraZ said developers are showing renewed optimism, while Moshe Moyal said lawyers are now much more active in protecting developers and seeing more deals return to the table.

The discussion also focused on delivery delays during the war. Eret Alkini said delays are now widespread. Eran Orbach said courts are showing more understanding, especially for developers in places like Ashkelon, and urged buyers’ lawyers to seek dialogue rather than rush to lawsuits. Hagai Adoram complained that industry ideas are not heard by decision makers.

On combination deals, Moshe Raz Cohen said bank financing has become too dominant and argued such deals can be done without banks. Tal Or said the end of TAMA 38 and the failure of some municipalities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, to advance alternatives have created a vacuum that is holding up combination transactions. Aviam Goldstein said renewal is viable mainly between Gedera and Hadera, with weaker regions needing state intervention and incentives. Other speakers said projects must ultimately reach construction, that triple-A tenants need stronger legal protections, and that the office market is being hurt by high-tech weakness and macroeconomic concerns.

The forum ended with a discussion of artificial intelligence and new property sectors. Shai Eliav said AI will speed up legal work and could streamline permits and planning, though it will not replace lawyers. Ofer Even said the profession could change radically within five to ten years, especially in risk management, but warned against false confidence in AI-generated expertise. Sefi Zilberstein said new fields such as power plants, data centers and storage facilities are creating first-of-their-kind Israeli transactions, including deals around NIS 5 billion, and require combined expertise in real estate, finance, energy and competition law. Idan Ben Yaakov said the key bottleneck is synchronizing planning, infrastructure and financing.