French Jewry boosts demand for Israeli homes

The terrible events in France over the past few days and the expected wave of immigration of tens of thousands of French Jews will create demand in Israel's property market, real estate developers and agents have told "Globes."

Eldar Real Estate Marketing sees the demand focusing on homes in the NIS 1.5-2 million price range. Eldar CEO Ronny Cohen said, "Our forecast is that tens of thousands of Jews will seek to immigrate to Israel and create demand for thousands of new apartments."

France has over 500,000 Jews, half of whom live in Paris. According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, a record 7,000 French Jews immigrated to Israel in 2014, double the previous year, while tens of thousands more enquired by moving to Israel.

Real estate contractor Yossi Avrahami said, "Thousands of French people are currently looking for homes in Israel and we saw this in the way they flocked to the last apartment fair that we held in Paris."

Previously it was thought that French Jews were only in the market for luxury apartments in Israel but Cohen says, "Anti-Semitism has changed the demand of foreign residents. If foreign residents, mainly French, bought only in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanya and Ashdod, now the trend is extending to other locations because foreign residents are no longer buying an apartment as an investment, but as a home to live in."

Shaike Nafha, VP Effi Capital, which is building West Hadera's Aqua Family project in the Ein Yam neighborhood together with Amram Avraham, said, "We see more and more foreign residents, mainly French, buying apartments in Hadera. Most are looking to be close to the sea and their families in Israel. In the past most of these foreign residents bought in Netanya and Tel Aviv but with real estate prices rising in these cities, people looking for apartments close to the seafront at more inexpensive prices have found them in Hadera. An apartment in the city is 50% of the price of a similar apartment with a sea view in Netanya."

Shechter Group CEO Dedi Riesel said, "In the past month, 7 French Jews bought apartments in the "Nof Yam Club" project in Or Akiva, not as an investment but to live in."

French buyers are also interested in Afula and Ashkelon. Avisror Moshe & Sons Ltd. VP marketing Yoram Avisror, which is building the Avisror Agamim project in Ashkelon said, "Many foreign residents, mainly French, have recently discovered Ashkelon as a new area of demand both because this is a developing sea resort, which is close to the center of the country, and because of attractive new neighborhoods with sane apartment prices."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2015

French Jewry boosts demand for Israeli homes

Real estate developers and agents tell "Globes" about rising demand from French customers, even before last week's events.