Is the potential apartment you want to purchase in a neighborhood about to be renovated? Or maybe a dense tower block will be built in front of it? How will the introduction of the light rail affect the value of the apartment, and how much will the local authority be able to contribute to the well-being of the residents in the future? It is time to look what the future holds.
When you are about to purchase a new apartment, you probably already know that you must conduct a comprehensive study of the living environment, but it is not enough to check what the current situation is; you must also know what the future holds and how this future will affect the value of the apartment. There is no need for special powers of prediction but for network research, as all this information is today in the government databases open to everyone, on the websites of the local authorities and the news websites. Ready to surf?
Read the map
Do you want to know if educational institutions or commercial areas are expected to be built in the new neighborhood? Will the green space in front of the dream apartment you found would stay like that, or maybe a noisy and polluting factory might be built there? This information is available on the outline plans, known as ‘city building plans’ (TBA). These plans are a statutory document whose purpose is to regulate land use in different territories.
The plan includes a map divided into lots and on which the land designations are marked, such as commerce, institutions, open spaces, roads, or residences. It is also possible to see the area’s intended use, such as industry or commerce, and what the existing building rights are, for example, how many floors and how many square meters each floor should have.
Don’t worry; to obtain these plans, there is no need to chase down an official in the municipality; they are available on the Internet, whether on the websites of the local authorities, the Israel Land Authority website, or the Israel Maps website. In addition to IBA plans, you can find a lot of information on the Israel Land Authority’s website regarding expansion plans, urban renewal plans, various projects such as neighborhood rehabilitation projects, etc. You can also find detailed information on construction plans throughout the country in the Israel Land Authority’s knowledge base on the government databases website.
A matter of mobility
After you have checked what the future environment will look like in the potential apartment, you should also check the level of accessibility to the apartment. Good public transportation significantly impacts the apartment’s value; for example, studies have found that the entrance to a train led to an increase in the prices of apartments located within a range of 50 to 500 meters from the station. This is why you should check if your potential apartment is in an area that will be more accessible to public transportation in the coming years.
On the NTA website, you can check whether one of the lines planned to be built between Herzliya and Holon and between the coastal plain and the Ono Valley will one day also enter your future residential area. You can check developments regarding public transportation in other regions of the country at the Ministry of Transportation office website.
Are you looking for an apartment in Gush Dan? The Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety has uploaded the supplementary plan for busy routes in the Tel Aviv metropolis for 2023 on the government databases website. Municipal initiatives such as the Auto-Tel initiative can also make a residential area more accessible, so it is worthwhile to follow various publications on the subject either on the news websites or in the municipality’s publications in multiple media.
An economy that is good for the value of the apartment
After you have carefully checked what will happen in the living environment close to the apartment you want to purchase, you should check the income situation of the local authority where the desired apartment is located. Local authorities that enjoy high incomes can afford to improve the various services for the residents, from cleaning through cultural services to investing in your children’s educational institutions.
Some factors that lead to an increase in the municipality’s income are employment and industrial areas. The high property tax required in industrial areas significantly increases the municipality’s income. The area’s residents also benefit from establishing these areas that provide them with jobs close to home, which may also affect the socio-economic level of their neighbors in the future. You can find information about future industrial and employment areas on the websites and publications of the local authorities.
Neighborhoods and cities change their character all the time; population changes, construction processes, and economic changes will affect the value of your apartment in the years to come. You must consider these factors and anticipate them as much as possible to make your investment more profitable.
