16,000 Compete for 38 Discounted Apartments in Haifa Lottery

Approximately 16,000 individuals have registered for a lottery offering 38 discounted apartments in Haifa, with registration closing on November 15th. This translates to a competition ratio of about 430 applicants per apartment. An additional lottery for three apartments within the same "Nof Yam" project by Shitit in the Neot Peres neighborhood saw around 15,500 registrants. The number of applicants in Haifa has steadily increased, surpassing 10,000 a week prior to the deadline.

The discounted price for a three-room apartment in the project is approximately 842,000 shekels. The price per square meter is set at 7,994 shekels for the larger lottery and 8,144 shekels for the smaller one, excluding VAT and construction input indexation. These units became available after the initial lottery phase, with previous winners forfeiting their rights or failing to meet program conditions. In 2020, a similar lottery for about 250 apartments in the same complex attracted only 2,600 registrants, a ratio of roughly 1 to 10.

The "Nof Yam" project is planned for approximately 840 apartments across 24 buildings, with a significant portion already marketed under the discounted scheme. While a building permit is in place and construction is underway, occupancy for these newly drawn apartments may be delayed for years, a common occurrence in such government programs. During the interim, payments to the contractor are subject to the construction input index, meaning a 10% rise in the index could add about 80,000 shekels to the price of a 100-square-meter apartment before VAT.

Compared to the free market, the discounted price per square meter (around 9,430 shekels including VAT) is significantly lower than Haifa's median price of approximately 19,300 shekels per square meter for three-room apartments, based on recent tax authority reports. This represents a nearly 50% price difference, although market data includes various neighborhoods and older buildings. The median price for a three-room apartment in Haifa is about 1.15 million shekels, with a 90-square-meter apartment at the discounted price costing around 850,000 shekels including VAT, a saving of about 300,000 shekels.

Lotteries are also ongoing in Harish, Dimona, and Beit She'an, offering a total of 101 apartments. In Harish, about 9,700 people registered for 53 apartments. The program is open to both first-time homebuyers and those looking to upgrade their existing homes, with the latter committing to sell their current property within 12 months of occupancy. The registration period for this round began on November 3rd and concludes on November 15th. Unlike previous rounds, there is no separate allocation for reserve soldiers, who previously received a significant portion of the apartments.