Real Estate Review for May 2019
(A) 2018 Urban Renewal Report – The Israeli Urban Renewal Authority released its 2018 Urban Renewal Report in mid-May 2019.
Building permit applications for TAMA 38 projects are on the decline
Although 2018 was a record year in terms of both building permits that were issued to projects that belongs to TAMA 38, the number of applications submitted for building permits has been reduced.
Between 2013 and 2015, a record number of applications for building permits were requested – 805 applications for buildings in 2013, 1068 in 2014 and 2007 in 2015 – but 2018 was marked by a sharp decline in all permits for projects under the TAMA 38 – 633 applications.
In the chart of top cities of TAMA 38 in 2018, Tel Aviv (probably due to the approval of the new district plan) leads in terms of permits, with Ashdod being the leader in terms of population size:
Tel Aviv-Jaffa – 81 buildings that received a permit – with the high figure probably due to the approval of the district plan.
Haifa – 59 buildings.
Ramat Gan – 47 buildings, of which 40 were in the 38/2 track (demolition and rebuilding) and only 7 in the 38/1 track (reinforcement and addition).
Holon – 46 buildings.
Jerusalem – 35 buildings – of which 31 are in the 38/1 route (reinforcement and addition).
Ashdod – 34 buildings – all permits relate to reinforcement and extension projects.
Every seventh apartment sold in Israel is part of an urban renewal project
From February 2018, the Commissioner at the Ministry of Construction and Housing began collecting data on new apartments being sold in urban renewal projects.
Out of 27,540 new apartments sold in Israel in 2018, 3,800 of them were built in urban renewal projects (TAMA 38 and evacuation and construction).
Ramat Gan leads in the number of apartments sold as part of urban renewal projects in 2018 with 350 apartments. Ashdod is in second place with 261 apartments, followed by Haifa (239 apartments), Holon (159 apartments) and Tel Aviv (139 apartments).
Evacuation-construction – Tel Aviv leads.
As of the end of 2018, the number of housing units approved for construction evacuation plans throughout Israel is only 13,000. Of these, Tel Aviv leads with about 2,300 apartments in 26 separate complexes. After Tel Aviv are Bat Yam (1,949 apartments), Jerusalem (1,185 apartments) and Haifa (1,770 apartments).
In relation to the size of the population, the leader in issuing permits for apartments in construction evacuation projects is Kiryat Ono, followed by Yehud-Monosson.
Looking at the districts in the State of Israel, you can see that the periphery is behind in relation to building permits for evacuation-construction projects; While in Tel Aviv District, building permits were issued for approximately 29,000 apartments and approximately 21,000 apartments in the Central District, in the Northern District, building permits were granted for only 442 apartments and in the Southern District approximately 4,000 apartments.
Givatayim, Ramat Hasharon and Ramat Gan – TAMA 38 Projects
In recent weeks, local authorities in Givatayim, Ramat Hasharon and Ramat Gan have announced that they will decide to stop or limit the TAMA 38 projects in their territory.
In Ramat Gan, applications for building permits under TAMA 38/1 or 38/2 have been approved only in exceptional cases; That they will not compromise the possibility of designing existing complexes and in accordance with the state of the public infrastructure in the area.
In Ramat Hasharon, the municipality recently announced to developers and architects working in some areas of the city that projects they are working to promote may not be implemented.
The Givatayim City Council would like to adopt a plan defining certain areas where TAMA 38 projects cannot be promoted.
The stopping of TAMA 38 projects by local authorities has recently become increasingly widespread.
In Kiryat Motzkin and Kiryat Bialik, decisions have recently been made regarding restrictions on the implementation of the TAMA 38 demolition and new construction.
(B) Should you buy an apartment in the Tama 38 project?
New regulations set a payment schedule according to the rate of construction progress.
If you are planning to purchase a new apartment, which has not yet been built or is in the process of being built, on a TAMA 38/1 type of reinforcement and condensation project, from mid-May 2019 the seller (the developer or the contractor) must be paid according at the rate of construction progress.
TAMA 38/1 projects, also called reinforcement and condensation TAMA projects, are projects in which the developer / contractor bargains with the apartment owners – he acquires the building rights on the roof and builds apartments for several floors above the building. And in return, strengthens the building from earthquakes, adding building additions to apartments – most of the time, patios, sun terraces and renovation of the staircase and exterior structure and adding an elevator.
