A tale of two cities

New neighborhoods - built to the north - have doubled the population of the original settlement of Rosh Ha'ayin, and are in demand.

By JOSH BENZAQUEN
Ministers of housing 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Ministers of housing 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Rosh Ha’ayin is one of the urban entities surrounding the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. And it is one with a bright future. It has been earmarked by the Construction and Housing Ministry as an area for mass building projects meant to relieve the congestion in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, as well as increase supply in the area, thereby weakening the upward pressure on real-estate prices in the area.
Rosh Ha’ayin was founded in 1949 on the site of an old British Army camp. Nissen huts – those corrugated- iron, igloo-like dwellings – were used to housed newly arrived immigrants. The new town was dubbed “Little Sana’a” because all its inhabitants hailed from Yemen.
The name Rosh Ha’ayin derives from the Hebrew for a spring of fresh, crystal-clear water that has supplied drinking water from time immemorial. Today, the waters of the spring – which used to run into the Yarkon River – are now fed into the national water carrier; but the name remains.
The area had great strategic importance. It is 200 meters above sea level and lies across the main route connecting Jerusalem with the north.
In consequence, we have in the vicinity of Rosh Ha’ayin the remains of an excellently preserved Turkish fort; the remains of a Crusader strong point; Byzantine villas, and the aforementioned British Army camp – all astride the ancient road that linked Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.
Rosh Ha’ayin used to be a sleepy, out-of-the-way town. But then things changed, first at a slow tempo, then much more quickly.
Rosh Ha’ayin suffered from an acute public relations problem, being considered, among other things, a “third world settlement.” To overcome this stigma, a completely new town was built to the north of the original one with its own infrastructure and its own schools.
The new dwellings were mostly semi-detached, with a sprinkling of single-family homes. They were marketed to regular army officers at what were then very attractive prices.
But that was over 20 years ago.
Today, Rosh Ha’ayin is definitely “in.” Developers have no problem selling their developments at prices that leave them a handsome profit.
Rosh Ha’ayin currently has a population of 40,000, of whom 20,000 are original residents and their offspring and the rest “newcomers” – residents of the new neighborhoods, which together are generally called Neveh Afek. And the town is set to expand further.
Mayor Moshe Sinai told Metro: “By 2025, we intend to more than double our population to 100,000. Our town has undergone a virtual revolution – the physical infrastructure has been greatly upgraded, and we have one of the best education systems in Israel.
“Furthermore, since 2004, we have striven to shed our dormitory-town status and become an independent entity.”
ONE OF the reasons for the town’s “independent” status is its hi-tech industrial park, Afek, supplying thousands of relatively high-income jobs. The newly planned Lev Israel complex, comprising 1,000 dwellings, a commercial and entertainment center and an industrial park, will provide still more jobs, as well as shops and entertainment outlets.
Rosh Ha’ayin is very centrally located. Twenty kilometers east of Tel Aviv, it sits smack on the intersection of Highways 6 and 5 connecting Petah Tikva to the settlements on the West Bank. Situated in a quiet area, it is nevertheless conveniently near Tel Aviv.
All this has a bearing on the real-estate scene. The government has initiated a vast building program in the eastern part of the city which, when completed, will add 14,000 dwellings housing from 60,000 to 75,000 people.
Orel Zoldan of the Remax real-estate network told Metro: “The real-estate scene in Rosh Ha’ayin is very dynamic. In the past two years, demand has picked up and is outstripping supply. Demand from developers for building land within the context of the new government building program has been strong – and with reason, since this is practically the only reserve of building land in the area.”
The strong demand for real estate in Rosh Ha’ayin has raised prices by up to 60 percent, on average, during the past two years.
Prices have risen in all parts of town, but there are differences between the different areas, because Rosh Ha’ayin is not one town but two. There is the Old City, sprung from the old British Army camp, and there is the new Rosh Ha’ayin called Neveh Afek.
A four-room apartment in the old part of the city can cost only NIS 1 million, while a single-family home will go for as little as NIS 1.4m.
Prices in Neveh Afek are much higher: A 120-squaremeter, four-room apartment can cost NIS 1.4m. and a semi-detached dwelling around NIS 2.2m., while a single-family home costs some NIS 3m.
But will prices in Rosh Ha’ayin continue to rise? This is difficult to answer. Prices may creep upward in the near future, but the implementation of the government building plans will increase supply greatly, which may push prices down.
Which is, after all, what the plan to build 14,000 new dwellings is all about.
Recent transactions in Rosh Ha'ayin
• In Neve Afek (the military section), a single-family dwelling with six rooms and a floor area of 185 square meters on a 500-sq.- m. plot sold for NIS 2.9 million.
• In Mitzpe Afek, a quarter adjacent to Old Rosh Ha’ayin, a four-room, 100-sq.-m. apartment on the first floor went for NIS 1.2m.
• In the Givat Dania neighborhood, a three-roomed, 72-sq.-m. apartment on the fourth floor sold for NIS 810,000.
• In more upscale Givat Selaim, a four-room, 94-sq.-m. apartment on the first floor sold for NIS 1.33m.