200 New Apartments Bought by Foreign Residents

30/12/2025

Foreign residents are transforming Jerusalem's real estate landscape. Members of the Delhi Jewish community from New York bought about 80 apartments in the KYH project, in the heart of the city, for a total amount estimated at more than one billion shekels. ■ In an urban renewal project in the Katamonim neighborhood, foreign residents, mostly from New Jersey and Baltimore, bought about 200 apartments. ■ "This trend is expected to take hold over the next decade."

Hundreds of apartments have been bought in Jerusalem over the past year by foreign residents, and in recent days the scope of sales in one prominent project has become clear. In recent months, a large group from the Delhi Jewish community in New York has bought dozens of apartments in two towers that JTLV is building in cooperation with BSR, currently under construction.

JTLV and BSR say that, to date, the community has bought about 80 apartments, and that another 40 potential buyers from the same community have registered. The total amount of the transactions is estimated at more than one billion shekels.

Industry sources estimate that the transactions reflect prices of between NIS 60,000 and NIS 54,000 per square meter, and even more in some cases. During Hanukkah alone, members of the New York community bought four apartments for between NIS 62,000 and NIS 64,000 per square meter, which illustrates the strength of demand and the high price level in the Jerusalem market.

As part of the cooperation between JTLV and BSR on the Etz Chaim and KYH complexes, adjacent to the Machane Yehuda Market from the east, four mixed-use towers of up to 32 stories each are being promoted. The projects are expected to include a total of approximately 550 apartments, in addition to commerce, employment and hotels, and represent a significant step in renewing the heart of the city.

The first part of the project, in the Etz Chaim complex, was marketed about five years ago by BSR to Israeli buyers as part of a purchase group at between NIS 30,000 and NIS 32,000 per square meter. At that time, BSR had already identified the KYH complex as a target for further development in cooperation with JTLV, and estimated that apartment prices there would be high, between NIS 55,000 and NIS 47,000 per square meter.

The construction cost is estimated at approximately NIS 1 billion and includes a complex and highly demanding engineering effort that includes, among other things, suspending a structure for its preservation and the construction beneath it, together with the construction of the towers, the hotel areas and six levels of underground parking. According to Nachshon Kivyati, chairman of BSR, "Work on the Etz Chaim complex is already in full swing and the executing contractor is Ashtrom.

We estimate that in June 2026, the buyers of the apartments in the first two towers will receive their keys. At the same time, the Fattal hotel chain will open the Nix Hotel, located in the Etz Chaim complex, on Jaffa Road. In the residential towers of the adjacent KYH, we offered representatives of the Halabi community of Brooklyn the opportunity to buy all 200 apartments in the project and, within a few months, approximately 80 contracts were signed, along with several dozen additional buyers who hold options to exercise them. The deals are also being closed at a price of approximately NIS 64,000 per square meter. Demand came mainly from members of the Halabi community, who required spacious, generous apartment layouts, with a minimum area of about 130 square meters, in contrast to the apartment characteristics of the Etz Haim project."

The Halabi community, which emigrated to the United States in the last century, settled mainly in Brooklyn and Manhattan. It is known for its high social cohesion and strict adherence to tradition, so most of its members are religious, and economically it is considered one of the most prosperous among American Jews. For this reason, buying apartments in Jerusalem can be seen as preparation for immigration or for housing children, although there is also growing concern that some of the apartments will not be inhabited but will be bought for investment or seasonal use.

Stay Informed: Information That Makes a Difference in the Israeli Real Estate Market

The right information is power.

To make sound decisions in Israel's dynamic real estate market, it is essential to have clear, up-to-date and reliable information.

We invite you to a free 30-minute call with Jacki, with no commitment,
to understand the real estate market in Israel clearly.

CONTACT JACKI TODAY!

WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/WZETVWZI7AQPP1