With the construction of the new light rail in Tel Aviv which is to extend to the surrounding cities of Tel Aviv, real estate has been booming in these areas. In the areas of Bat Yam, Herzliya, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Petach Tikva, Rishon le Tzion and Holon, rent prices have sky-rocketed in certain areas. And it is not just the light rail that is causing the real estate market to become more expensive. Because of the Iranian attack, a lot of areas were destroyed, these will be prime locations for developers. Not only in Tel Aviv, but much of the wreckage in the north from Hezbollah will also be a prime location for developers which will be a great opportunity to invest in buying land and homes there.

As a tour guide, many of my tourists ask me about real estate, how much it costs to buy or rent an apartment or home in a specific area of Israel. Because I have lived here for 13 years, I pretty much know how much rent and property cost. After asking certain real estate agents in Tel Aviv, and my cousin Beni Sheiba who is an established real estate agent in Rehovot, I concluded that real estate has become a major investment opportunity in Israel. With tourism slowly resuming to Israel, I believe that many foreigners will look to invest in property in Israel. Israel, as many people know, is expensive to live in and property is expensive especially in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The prices of most places in Israel can be compared to those in Brooklyn in New York City. The average 2-room apartment (one bedroom and a separate living room) by Dizengoff Square area in Tel Aviv for example costs about the same as a 2-room apartment in Crown Heights in Brooklyn.

The law in Israel is that your first apartment you buy is tax free, this makes it extremely desirable to buy property in Israel.

Hotels and Hospitality:

Many hotels are also gaining more business because of the return of many tourists to Israel. During the war, most hotels had to rely on government funding for hosting Israeli refugees from the north and south of Israel. Now that this government stipend has ended, the return of tourists is a big help to these hotels that were affected by the war.

Tour Guides in Israel:

Tour guides were affected the most by the war. Most tour guides, including myself, lost a lot of business and were forced to find other means of earning income. The return of these major airlines to Israel brings a lot of hope for many tour guides in Israel. I predict that starting September, there will be much more work for tour guides because Delta, Indian Air and other major airlines are set to resume flights on August 1st. Also, August is very hot, so there aren’t a lot of tours happening in August.

Written by Jonathan Jacobson