Israel Eases Housing Program Rules to Include Homeowners
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
Israel's "Apartment at a Discount" program now allows homeowners to enter lotteries for subsidized housing, provided they sell their current home within a year. The current offerings focus on peripheral cities, with prices for a three-room apartment starting around NIS 488,000 in Beit She'an. Registration is open for ten days on the program's website. A banking CEO suggested revising the program to offer income-based benefits instead.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Israel's housing program now allows homeowners to enter lotteries for subsidized apartments.
- Homeowners must sell their existing property within 12 months of acquiring a subsidized unit.
- Current offerings are concentrated in peripheral cities like Beit She'an, Dimona, Haifa, and Harish.
- A three-room apartment in Beit She'an is priced at approximately NIS 488,000.
- Registration for the current lottery phase is open for the next ten days.
- Jerusalem Bank CEO Yair Kaplan proposed income-based housing benefits instead of the current system.
Israel's "Apartment at a Discount" housing program has been updated to allow homeowners, previously excluded, to participate in lotteries for subsidized apartments. This marks a significant shift, as the program, which previously favored first-time buyers, had stopped including "home improvers" about three years ago. The new policy aims to assist thousands of families who no longer qualify as first-time buyers but still seek to purchase property at a reduced price. A key condition for these homeowners is that they must sell their existing home within 12 months of moving into the new subsidized apartment.
The current phase of the program, open for registration for the next ten days, primarily features apartments in peripheral cities. Specific projects include two apartments in Beit She'an, with a price per meter of NIS 4,090 (excluding VAT and indexation) and a NIS 60,000 grant for winners. In Dimona, six apartments are offered at NIS 5,444 per meter, with a NIS 40,000 grant. Haifa has several projects, one by Shitit Ltd. offering three apartments at NIS 8,144 per meter without a grant, and another larger project by the same company with 38 apartments at NIS 7,994 per meter. Harish offers 53 apartments at NIS 12,400 per meter.
Pricing examples for a three-room apartment in Beit She'an start at approximately NIS 488,000, while a similar unit in Dimona costs around NIS 581,000, and in Haifa, NIS 842,000. Larger apartments in Harish, such as a five-room unit, are priced at NIS 1.634 million, and a six-room apartment at NIS 1.894 million.
Registration involves visiting the "Apartment at a Discount" website, obtaining eligibility confirmation from designated companies like Alonim, Milgam, or Maof, and then entering the lottery. Yair Kaplan, CEO of Jerusalem Bank, has called for a review of the current housing assistance methods, suggesting a shift towards personalized income-based benefits for eligible buyers. He noted that many "Price for the Buyer" program winners are waiting for their eligibility and proposed that allowing them to use their discounts flexibly could impact sales figures.