Things to know about apartments in Israel
Israel has come a long way. All of us that were here many years ago remember that “Israeli apartment” feel, especially the brown speckled floors! Those days are mostly gone. Today’s new apartments are often on par with their US counterparts. However there are still things to keep in mind.
Size & Price
These are the two things that really catch people looking into buying in Israel for the first time. It is not that Israel has different ideas of how big an apartment should be or how much it should cost. It is more that we are generally comparing apples to oranges. When someone comes from their large spacious three floor single family home, they expect the same in the heart of Jerusalem. A better comparison would be to expensive real estate in the heart of Manhattan.
So you think you are paying a lot and getting less for your money? Well let's remember the old adage regarding real estate; location location, location!
Apartment Types
There are several different types of dwellings you can buy in Israel. They range from standard apartments in apartment buildings to stand alone homes. You are very familiar with these but lets just get the terminology down so there is no misunderstanding.
Standard apartment or “Dira” - This is usually in an apartment building. While tall buildings were not the norm years ago, they are today even in Chareidi neighborhoods. The need for more apartments has forced the religious community to adapt. Newer technology for Shabbos elevators has made this possible. Additionally more sophisticated building plans especially in religious neighborhoods are designed to ensure each apartment gets some “open to the sky” space on the porch for a kosher Succah.
Meduragot - These are multi family buildings built into the side of a hill (quite popular in the hilly Jerusalem). These apartments often have private entrances since an exterior staircase provides access to the individual apartments. This often means however that there is no elevator in the building. Usually these buildings have several floors below street level and several above ensuring that no one needs to navigate too many stairs. An upside to this is that the views are usually incredible from all floors and open porches allow for large kosher succahs.
Cottage - This refers to a house with more than one family living in it. It can also have a number of families as well. A cottage will always have a private entrance for each family and often have more than one floor per apartment. It is on ground level and often has a garden.
Duplex - is used to refer to any apartment with two floors.
Villa means a totally private one family house. Generally in most areas these are very expensive properties.
There is only one Jewish country and there is only one city we pray for at least three times a day. It is not New York, Paris or even Dubai! So get a grip and jump in level headed. And if it doesn’t talk to you, then don’t buy.