FAQ

The average price of an apartment already exceeds $1.1 million, and transportation costs rose by 21% in 2021. Tel Aviv’s spot on the list is misleading, however, because the index is calculated in dollars, and the shekel is very strong.

Although anyone can buy property in Israel, regardless of nationality or religion, foreign residents pay a higher purchase tax than Israeli residents. The purchase tax (mas rechisha) must be paid within 50 days of signing the contract.

The profitable return on Israeli real estate investment comes partly from rental income, and partly from the sale of your property. You can typically achieve 25% return on investment in 3 to 4 years.

Due to the British Colonisation and immigration, English is a widely spoken language in Israel. The official language of Israel (after much controversies and conflicts) was decided to be Hebrew, the holy biblical language. Arabic was reduced to occupy a ‘special status’ in the country.

How did Tel Aviv become the most expensive city to live in? Tel Aviv topped the rankings mainly because the appreciating Israeli currency new shekel against the U.S. dollar has made local costs more expensive, the EIU said in its 2021 Worldwide Cost of Living report.

Dimona, for whatever reason, currently tops the chart as the cheap starter home capital of Israel.

More than any other factor, it has been the low interest rate in recent years that has fueled the housing market, with huge amounts of cheap money including hundreds of billions of shekels in credit extended to developers and tens of billions more to buyers for mortgages.