The attractive price and brand-newness of the apartments are pluses, but the locations are less attractive in terms of public transportation and, as a result, access to places of employment.
By DAFNA SHEMERWinner in "Mehir Lamishtaken", by district(photo credit: JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH)
One of the repercussions of the 2011 housing protests was that recent governments, and the current finance minister in particular, have taken measures to lower housing costs. For now it seems we’re still in trouble, though, given that the total number of monthly salary installments required to purchase an apartment in Israel (according to Construction Ministry data for the first half of 2015) is 146, whereas in 2009 the total was 116.The project Mehir Lamishtaken (“Buyer’s Price”) was launched in an effort to address the growing housing crisis in Israel. Through this project, developers compete for discounted land to construct affordable housing for first-time home-buyers who meet certain qualifications, and the apartments are then offered for sale by lottery.As of 2016, a total of 7,600 apartments were offered in tenders. In Jerusalem the total was 501, mainly in the neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo (86%), and the remainder in Pisgat Ze’ev, and tenders will soon be announced for 407 apartments. The 501 apartments offered so far amount to 18% of the annual average for construction starts in Jerusalem over the past five years. The average apartment size is 116 sq.m., which exceeds the 2016 average for Jerusalem, at 81 sq.m.The media have pointed out that apartments in the Mehir Lamishtaken program are generally larger than the typical apartment; and so, too, in Jerusalem 40% of the apartments offered through the program have five rooms, and 35% have four or four-and-a-half rooms. According to data on construction starts in Jerusalem published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, only 20% of apartments under construction in Jerusalem in 2016 had five rooms.The prices of apartments that have been won by lottery are published on the Construction Ministry’s website, and as promised, their prices are lower than average for the relevant neighborhoods.An apartment in this project in Ramat Shlomo costs NIS 12,900 per square meter, whereas the typical cost, according to the Madlan website, is NIS 19,700 per square meter – a difference of 54% .In Pisgat Ze’ev the cost for apartments in this project is NIS 9,500 per square meter, compared with the average cost of NIS 16,200 per square meter – a difference of 69%.Mehir Lamishtaken reserves a number of places for locals: 38% of the lottery winners in Jerusalem are Jerusalem residents, 22% are from the Tel Aviv District, and another 20% are from the Central District.A relatively small proportion of winners are from the environs of Jerusalem: 4% from the Jerusalem District (excluding the city), and 8% from the Judea and Samaria District.The next tenders are expected to be announced in Gilo and Malha, thus maintaining the trend of using available peripheral lands in the implementation of the project.The attractive price and brand-newness of the apartments are pluses, but the locations are less attractive in terms of public transportation and, as a result, access to places of employment.Translated by Merav Datan.
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