From the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics it appears that in Haifa there are very large gaps between the sale of second-hand apartments and new apartments. Data from the first quarter of 2024 shows that 213 new apartments were sold in Haifa, which places it in 17th place, after cities such as Tiberias, Elad and Ofakim. In the last quarter of 2023, Haifa is in 12th place in the sale of new apartments with the sale of 159 apartments.
Compared to the new apartments, Haifa is in first place in Israel in the sale of second-hand apartments with the sale of 860 second-hand apartments in the first quarter of 2024 and 532 second-hand apartments in the fourth quarter of 2023 (which still places Haifa in first place). From the sale of second-hand apartments, you can see that Haifa is an attractive city compared to the other cities in Israel, so it is intriguing to understand the gap compared to the sale of new apartments.
Another figure related to construction starts in Haifa, published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, helps explain the gap between second-hand apartments and new apartments. In 2023, they started building 1,800 units in Haifa, in 2022 they started building only 731 units in the city and in 2021 they started building 602 apartments. Despite the relatively impressive figure of 2023 (sixth place in the country), in the previous years, there were few construction starts, which affects the supply of new apartments for sale in the city.
CEO and owner of Morg Properties, a real estate marketing agency, Ido Morg: "If the city knew how to produce new apartments at a price of NIS 2-2.5 million, there would be a huge demand for them"
CEO and owner Morg Properties, a real estate marketing agency, Ido Morg: "In Haifa there is a large variety of apartments for sale. From investment apartments in Hadar, to Shaprintzak, as well as Neve Shanan. In the past, prices in Kiryat were cheaper than Haifa, but in recent years, prices in Nasher and Kiryat have risen to a level that is close to Haifa. Because of the similar prices, investors prefer Haifa, because it has rental anchors: University, Technion, Haifa is still seen as an unpolished diamond among investors from the center.
Haifa has reasonable price ranges. You can find investment apartments in good areas for around NIS 4 million, second-hand 1.6-room residential apartments in the area of 1.7-3 million NIS, and in new projects in Carmel there are apartments for 4-3 million, which relative to the luxury market in Israel, these are reasonable prices. While standard apartments starting from the border of Hadera and south are sold at huge prices, in Haifa, luxury apartments in the most sought after areas of Carmel are sold at prices between 4-XNUMX million.
Because of the variety of apartments and the price range and due to the increase in prices in Haifa's satellite cities, there is a return to the interior of the city. There was a trend in recent years that Atlit, Nesher, Tirat Carmel and the Kiryat were significantly cheaper than Haifa, but as time passed, the prices there climbed, which restored the attractiveness of Haifa. Haifa is considered the capital of the north, and people will prefer to buy an apartment there rather than in the satellite cities, if the prices in Haifa and the satellite cities are in the same price range."
"Part of the gap between second-hand apartments and new apartments is due to the fact that we are not a leader in construction starts. If Haifa was in first or second place in the pace of construction starts, the demand for new projects would increase. Today, a significant part of the new construction projects are prestigious projects on the Carmel Ridge, and as the price high, there are fewer transactions."
"If there was more construction of urban renewal projects in the coastal neighborhoods or if the construction of new neighborhoods such as Naut Peres B were started, in my estimation there would be a high demand for apartments of this type and we would rise in the ranking also in the level of demand for new construction. If the city knew how to produce new apartments for families in the range of between NIS 2-2.5 million in the coastal neighborhoods area mainly there was an influx to these apartments and I even estimate that there were couples from the center who were considering returning to Haifa.
In conclusion, the second-hand market in Haifa is diverse and wide because the city of Haifa is built because of the topographical structure of a cluster of districts, with each district being like a small city. This creates a diverse mix of apartments for both investors and home buyers who are home improvers. Regarding new projects, from my experience I saw that whenever there was a new project at fair prices - the projects were snapped up."
CEO of the Next Urban Kozhinoff Group, Yossi Cohen: "Whoever is in the municipality today has come to work and this will affect the number of new apartments for sale"
The CEO of the Next Urban Khozhinoff Group, Yossi Cohen, is sure that the figures of the Central Bureau of Statistics are going to change in the coming years: "The data on sales of second-hand apartments in the first quarter of 2024 indicate that Haifa has a demand. Haifa residents want to stay in the city and improve their homes and so do investors who want to buy here.
One of the reasons that attract investors to buy apartments in Haifa is that the apartments here are reasonably priced compared to other cities. Haifa is in 17th place in the sale of new apartments, because there are no new apartments in Haifa. There are a few new Tamaot apartments in Carmel at very expensive prices. There is a high interest rate. The expensive apartments are less in demand, and people are looking for apartments at reasonable prices.
In other cities there is a supply that allows you to buy at reasonable prices. In the last 5 years, they barely started building in the city. There are no new apartments on the shelf and you can see this in the sales data. If there were more new apartments for sale, the demand for these apartments would be the same as there is for old apartments.
I am very optimistic because those who are in the municipality today come to work. The team around Lihav, and the deputy mayors Sharit Golan Steinberg, Sofi Nakash and Yossi Shalom, came to work and less to talk. I already see a difference in the conduct today compared to what it was until now. Even when there is a problem, there is someone to talk to, which is a great thing.
I think the next 5 years will be a very significant landmark for the city. There is an emphasis on proper construction and transportation solutions for residents, and the city of Haifa will fly forward in the coming years. I wish success to whoever takes up his position. Cooperation between the decision makers and the professional team together with the entrepreneurs will lead the city forward, and I am sure that the figures of the Central Bureau of Statistics will change completely in the coming years."
Entrepreneur Eyal Friedman: "The fact that we are in first place in the sale of second-hand apartments is very encouraging"
Entrepreneur Eyal Friedman: "I am very happy to hear that people are smart and come to buy an apartment in Haifa. The fact that we are in first place in the sale of second-hand apartments is very encouraging. What attracts investors to Haifa is that it is quite easy to find apartments for less than a million NIS. New apartments are usually in more prestigious areas and are more expensive, and these are intended for housing improvers and cost over 2 million.
In the cheaper places it is not profitable to build new apartments. I have at least 7 projects that need to go to a local committee since September 2023 to get a building permit. These projects have not yet been approved and cannot be offered for sale and I have almost no goods to sell. God
The fact that construction permits are delayed can explain the fact that there are fewer sales of new apartments. Many people who come to buy apartments outside of Haifa are looking for cheap apartments, so they don't buy the new apartments.
I really hope that after the local elections, when the local committee starts working and people have changed in the team that staffs the local committee, we will see an improvement in the coming months. As someone who comes from outside Haifa, I know that the situation is not easy and sometimes worse in other cities in Israel. I strongly believe in Haifa and I will continue to operate in Haifa. We have patience."
Friedman added that the evacuees contribute to the demand for rent, even though they are mainly looking for furnished apartments, so they mainly help the market for airbnb apartments.
Wait 5 years and see how many more young people will run away from here.
As long as the municipality of Haifa conducts itself in a mafia way
A people and a committee that robbed itself of tens of millions of shekels in additions to gifts and vacations and celebrations during a war while cutting welfare, culture and education, so it is better for the young people to flee to cities with municipalities where the conduct is sane.
Property tax will be raised over 5% next year to finance the additional gifts, upgrades to standards, additional consultants, additional paid deputy mayors and their assistants, additional vacationers and celebrations for the municipality's employees.
The 2025 budget expresses a devastating budget for Haifa with sharp cuts in payments to residents and the robbery of hundreds of millions more for wages, benefits, celebrations, pensions for the municipality that has a city - and this is the number 1 problem in Haifa. Instead of a city that has a municipality, here is a municipality that has a city that extorts crazy property taxes that stinks up businesses, that smuggles factories, that smuggles residents.
The amount of trending demagoguery in the article exceeds all imagination.
The entrepreneurs who became the "super planners of the city" allegedly sell stories of city development with many apartments in monster housing cube buildings.
Not a word about the TMA 38 scam!!
Only money and more money wrapped in pink cellophane of city development, when in practice they are burying the city.
Endless eye contact!
It's very simple. The apartments that are being built in TMA 38 are priced at unreasonable prices for Haifa. Even the residents of Haifa have no desire to improve housing at prices of NIS 3-4 million, and these apartments are either empty or rented.
On the other hand, second-hand apartment prices in many neighborhoods in Haifa are among the cheapest in the country, and people buy cheap apartments in anticipation of renewal plans. Haifa residents buy second-hand apartments in luxury neighborhoods in the ridge in the absence of new apartments. Old second-hand apartments in Carmel can be found at a more reasonable price of NIS 1.7-2 million, when the differences are very large (up to NIS 2 million difference from new apartments)
That's all the explanation here.
The contractors in Haifa think they will beat prices and discover that buyers have cheaper alternatives by hundreds of thousands of shekels in nearby cities and Haifa is no more attractive today than the Carmel Castle and the Kiryat, and maybe even the other way around - in light of the high property tax and the low level of service from the "Dancing with Dove" municipality.
I wish the data were correct and they would return to Haifa and save the city here.
Perhaps it is also related to the evacuees from the north, some of whom may prefer a big city far from the rockets.