Old Herzliya Home Sells for Half the Price of New Villas in Neve Amal Neighborhood
A two-family old house with four rooms and 94 square meters of built area was sold for 3.8 million shekels on David Remez Street in the Neve Amal neighborhood of Herzliya. Neve Amal, established before the founding of Israel, was originally planned in 1951 based on a British Mandate-era district plan, then considered a settlement between Ra'anana and Herzliya. The original building rights limited construction to about 150 square meters per plot, typically resulting in modest two-family homes.
In 2015, a renewal plan significantly increased building rights to 70% of the plot size, allowing two floors plus an attic and enabling owners to split their plots and add additional housing units of about 180 square meters. This led to many original residents or their heirs selling old homes to wealthier buyers who demolish and replace them with luxury villas priced between 6 and 7 million shekels, roughly double the price of older homes.
The sold property, built in 1951 by the Workers' Housing Company, originally had two 41-square-meter units. Over the years, expansions increased the size to 94 square meters. The total plot area is 1.08 dunams, half of which was split and sold two years ago for 6.4 million shekels to two different buyers. One buyer is constructing a new home with a building permit, while the other sold the front half with the old house.
Tal Zano, a senior consultant at Anglo-Saxon Herzliya who handled the deal, stated the price accurately reflects the market value, with land prices in the area ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 shekels per square meter. Appraiser Israel Yaakov noted the transaction is essentially a land deal, as the existing house does not utilize the current building rights efficiently. He highlighted a 19% price increase in the plot's value over two years, representing a real gain of about 400,000 shekels before capital gains tax.
Overall, the sale price aligns with recent transactions in Neve Amal, reflecting the neighborhood's evolving real estate market amid ongoing redevelopment and rising land values.
