Adv. Omer Gadish, a partner and head of our firm’s Real Estate and Urban Renewal department, participated in the Dun’s 100 forum of prominent jurists in the field of real estate. The forum participants discussed issues on the sector agenda, such as the effects of the war on the real estate market, the market freeze, commercial real estate and other subjects. Adv. Gadish referred, inter alia, to the response the State is obliged to issue on the ever increasing housing crisis, and said that “The housing crisis in the country began long before the breakout of war. The increase in interest rate, which started in April 2022, the significant drop in construction commencements and the almost complete halt in sales of apartments made their appearance even before the war began. The war of course empowered the crisis and the prolongued fighting as well as the concern of a second front opening in the north is keeping most of the entrepreneurs – as well as potential buyers – holding on to their cards. If the country does not take significant action immediately upon completion of the war, this dire situation will become decisively worse.  I think that in the short term, it would be wise to find a solution for converting office spaces into living spaces within a short time and at low cost. The intention would be to present the planning authorities with applications to convert office buildings into residential buildings with a short planning procedure and with full or partial exemption of betterment levies; this would make it possible to use hundreds of thousands of office spaces currently under construction in the center of the country and turn them into residential apartments.  In the long term, it would be wise to promote a long-term rental market for state owned buildings. It is an accepted practice worldwide and provides certainty in terms of rental conditions and in terms of renter stability, maintenance, etc., and in this manner, it would be possible to change young couples’ way of thinking, who currently feel that they have to purchase an apartment no matter what, even if this entails mortgages or loans with high returns that are way above their ability”. For reviewing: https://www.calcalist.co.il/local_news/article/hjmn3nkra 

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