Northern city of Carmiel
Photo: Gil Nehushtan
Buy home in periphery, get NIS 100,000
Cabinet approves plan granting benefits to young couples purchasing their first apartment in one of 28 selected communities. Decision to take effect July 10
The cabinet on Sunday approved Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias' plan to grant NIS 100,000 (about $30,000) to young couples purchasing their first apartment in one of 28 communities across Israel,
defined as national priority areas.
The decision will take effect on July 10.
According to Atias, the decision is only part of a plan aimed at allowing young couples to buy their first home.
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The plan includes the communities of Ofakim, Beit Shean, Bu'eine Nujeidat, Dimona, Tiberias, Hura, Yeruham, Carmiel, Kafr Manda, Migdal Hemek, Ma'alot-Tarshiha, Yafa an-Naseriyye, Mitzpe Ramon, Nahariya, Nahf, Nazareth, Nazareth Illit, Netivot, Sakhnin, Akko, Arad, Safed, Kiryat Shmona, Rahat, Sderot, Hatzor Haglilit, al-Sayed and Shlomi.
According to the decision, young couples who don't own an apartment will receive a benefit of NIS 100,000 – an NIS 60,000 grant upon purchasing the flat and a subsidization of about NIS 40,000 on average for the land development cost.
The benefit will be given to couples who receive a certificate of eligibility from the Housing Ministry, regardless of the number of children in the family or its income level.
According to the Housing Ministry, in another four years, and every four years, the list of communities will be examined according to fixed standards and new communities meeting the required terms will be added. Communities in Judea and Samaria will be examined separately later on.
"The plan is aimed at encouraging immigration to the periphery areas, helping young couples, and encouraging the population to remain in these areas while encouraging new construction in these areas, in communities with a wide supply for available lands for construction, thus preventing uncontrolled price hikes," the Housing Ministry said in a statement.
"The plan provides an economic advantage for people without an apartment over those purchasing apartments for investment purposes. The plan is expected to increase the supply of apartments in Israel, in light of the encouragement of construction in periphery towns."
"This is a day of celebration for the periphery communities and young couples who'll receive money to make it easier for them to raise the required equity capital," Minister Atias said Sunday.
"In the near future I plan to increase extensively the supply of lands, focusing on communities in the periphery, where lands for saturated building have not been marketed in the past decade due to lack of demand. This will ease the ongoing shortage of apartments and the housing distress, first and foremost of young couples."
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