
As a real estate agent working in Jerusalem, I often hear the same questions from clients: “With all the construction happening, will there be too much supply? Are we heading for a market correction? Is it risky to buy now?” These are smart, responsible questions, and they deserve honest answers.

In the recent months I’ve received many calls or inquiries for 3-4 bedroom rental properties in Rehavia, Baka, German Colony, Katamon, etc. Unfortunately the rentals in Jerusalem are few and far between these days. When potential clients call me, I try to explain the situation with the following reasons:

Due to the war, interest rates have gone down, making it more feasible for those who couldn’t buy, now to jump into the pool of those looking.

Most people would assume that when Israel is at war, stay away from real estate, but in actuality it’s the exact opposite, and I’ll tell you why.

Back in the day, the way to make money was to do a flip. This meant buying a property that needed renovations for cheaper due to the fact that it needed work, renovating it and selling it for a higher price. Through this, you’d make a nice amount of money. Well, those days are pretty much over due to the following factors

Until a week ago, if you bought a new property on paper and you went by the 20/80 payment schedule, you got screwed by the ‘cost of building index.’ Let me explain. ‘The cost of building index’ means that if the materials of a building being built were increased, such as wood, metals, tiles, etc., the buyer carried the burden of paying that extra cost. In a standard 150 sqm apartment, this meant...