3 Times Higher Than Other Luxury Homes Nearby: Superstar Broker’s Villa in Tzahala Sells for Record Price This Year

The villa of luxury broker Rafi Kalina in North Tel Aviv, built on a 1.06-dunam lot — nearly double the neighborhood’s average size — has been sold. The buyers, a couple in their 40s from the fintech industry, purchased the home that enjoys seclusion thanks to surrounding open land belonging to Ramat Hasharon. However, due to a massive development plan approved there, a road will likely be built adjacent to the villa.

By Dror Nir Castel, Nadlan Center

The villa of luxury real estate broker Rafi Kalina has sold for NIS 63 million, in a transaction finalized this year with registration in the land registry. Located on Shoshanim Street in the Tzahala neighborhood of North Tel Aviv, the sale marks the highest price recorded in the city this year, according to Globes. Estimates suggest that the villa’s sale price was three times higher than that of other luxury properties sold in the area.

The property, located at 19 Shoshanim Street in northeast Tzahala, sits on a 1.06-dunam plot — almost twice the average lot size in the neighborhood, which typically ranges from 500 to 800 square meters. The house itself spans 728 square meters and includes eight rooms. The villa enjoys isolation, as it is surrounded by open land that falls under the municipal jurisdiction of Ramat Hasharon.

The buyers are a relatively young couple in their 40s, working in the fintech industry. The property is currently undergoing extensive renovations and adjustments according to their specifications.

The surrounding open land may change significantly. In the adjacent area, Ramat Hasharon’s “Recreation Strip” plan has been approved, which includes residential areas, a large metropolitan park, and mixed-use zones with about 6,100 housing units, 900 dunams of parkland, and additional commercial and leisure areas. The plan, approved in late 2016, is divided into two sections — east (RSH/1084) and west (RSH/1010) — and is bounded by Highway 5 to the north, the Ayalon Freeway to the west, and the Neve Gan and Tel Aviv neighborhoods to the south. As part of the plan, a new road known as the “Recreation Road” is expected to be built west of the villa, just east of Highway 20.

Still, the future development’s impact on the villa, located at the edge of the neighborhood, is expected to be limited. Negotiations over the sale began at the end of last year, while the formal land registration was completed this year.

Rafi Kalina is a veteran luxury real estate broker. His portfolio includes dozens of properties for sale and rent, including commercial assets. Since the early 2000s, he has been a dominant figure in Tzahala, with many luxury homes passing through his hands. His clients have included figures such as Ofra Strauss, Ehud Olmert, Lev Leviev, and Loni Herzikovich. More recently, he has also joined as a developer with Hagag in a 40-story tower on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, featuring 120 apartments and 380 hotel rooms.

Recently, we also reported on another one of the year’s most expensive deals: a 4-room apartment in the SHE Tower by Canada Israel on Yehuda Halevi Street in central Tel Aviv, which sold for NIS 30 million.