From northern Tel Aviv to western Rishon LeZion, from southern Petah Tikva to Lev Ramat Gan, hundreds of families still realize the Israeli dream of private homes with gardens every year without migrating to the periphery. Nadlan Center set out to check where this is happening, what the scope is, and, of course, what the price is.
By Doron Breitman, Nadlan Center
40 or 70 apartments per dunam? 80, 50, or “only” 30 floors in a tower? These are the main questions currently asked when promoting new construction plans in the Gush Dan region, the densely populated area in Israel that continues to crowd rapidly even today. But it turns out that despite the rising density, high prices, and the growing shortage of land in the Gush Dan region, some continue to build single-family homes. More precisely, there are several hundred of them every year.
An examination by Nadlan Center of building starts data recently published by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows that in the past five quarters (2023 and the first quarter of 2024), construction began in major cities in the Dan region of 480 housing units in single-family buildings, that is, in villas or semi-detached buildings. Petah Tikva had the highest number of detached apartments whose construction began, with 112 housing units of this type. Rishon LeZion followed with 93 housing units; in Hod Hasharon, 83 housing units were built; in Tel Aviv-Yafo, 79 apartments; and in Ramat Gan and Herzliya, 58 units each.
The engineering departments of the central municipalities explain that detached construction currently relies on old building plans. In Petah Tikva, for example, the city’s construction of detached homes is possible under the municipal master plan from 1992. The Rishon Municipality said, “Detached construction is possible in the city only by longstanding plans and in areas characterized by this such as Neve Yam, Neve Dekelim, and Nahalat Yehuda.”
Rishon LeZion: Semi-detached homes on 250 sqm
“Most of the construction in the Neve Dekelim neighborhood in Rishon LeZion is on virgin plots that people are building on for the first time,” says architect Moshik Hadida, who previously worked in these areas. “Neve Yam is an older neighborhood, so there may have been a lot of additions, but I don’t think there were many new lots. These are small plots of 250 square meters characterized by detached construction of semi-detached homes with at least five bedrooms,” says Hadida. An examination of the prices of detached apartments on the Yad 2 website reveals that the prices in these neighborhoods range between NIS 5-8 million.
Most municipalities emphasize that due to the shortage of land in the communities, no new neighborhoods are planned for detached houses and that new construction of detached buildings is carried out mostly or entirely in areas already characterized by detached buildings. It is also important to remember that in the older neighborhoods with private homes, there is almost no vacant land for the construction of new single-family homes, and most of the new construction is at the expense of older houses that are demolished.
The Ramat Gan municipality, for example, explains that: “As far as the municipality is concerned, there is no promotion of planning for detached construction in new areas, but only in neighborhoods where this is the clear nature of construction in the existing situation. Detached construction is possible in defined areas of the city, where the existing type of construction is detached, including Tel Binyamin, parts of the Veterans Housing, Ramat Chen, Hillel neighborhood, Tel Ganim, Kiryat Borochov, and Kiryat Krinitzi.”
In Tel Aviv, most of the detached construction takes place north of the Yarkon River in the neighborhoods of District 2, which includes Tel Baruch, Tzahala, Ramat Hachayal, Hadar Yosef, and Neot Afka. “From a strategic perspective, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality does not encourage or promote plans to add detached buildings or new low-density plans,” the Tel Aviv Municipality explains, “However, Tel Aviv as a city sees maintaining a variety of residential types as a significant component of urban resilience. Pockets of low-rise neighborhoods allow for various residential types in the north, south, and east of the city. At the time of approval of the TA/5000 master plan, the percentage of low-rise residential units in the city was about 6% of all housing units, and the percentage is declining in light of urban renewal development.”
North Tel Aviv: 4 cottages on a 700 sqm plot
“The cheapest and smallest semi-attached homes are cottages located in the neighborhoods of Ramot Tzahala, Revivim, and Ganei Tzahala,” says realtor Moti Ackerman, who has been active in the area for many years, “They are talking about lots that will be between 150 and 200 square meters, very small lots. Usually, four cottages will be built on one 700-meter plot. What does that do? It creates houses whose blueprints are smaller. We’re talking about levels of 50 meters, and in order for the house to be relevant, you have to build all four levels: basement, ground floor, first floor, and roof floor. For the most part, all the houses in these neighborhoods are like this. The cost of such a cottage ranges from 6-9 million.”
“If you want to go up one level,” Ackerman continues, “you’re talking about the Ramat Hachayal and Dan neighborhoods. To build a house, according to the zoning plan, a plot of a minimum of 250 meters is required, and then the blueprints become 70-80 meters with a larger garden. You can also make do with less than one floor without the roof or basement level. There is a total area above which construction becomes non-viable. Large lots do not take advantage of all building rights. In these neighborhoods, the range of apartments is larger. You can buy for 7-12 million shekels; It depends on the size of the land and the type of property.”
“The next level is southern Tel Baruch, Tzahala, and Afka,” Ackerman describes, “two very prestigious neighborhoods. The plot, according to the zoning plan, should be 400-600 meters in size per house. Most of the lots are 500 meters in size, but they are semi-detached lots. This creates lower density, makes everything more spacious, and lowers the number of vehicles and people. You immediately feel it when walking around the neighborhood. The cost of houses in these areas starts at NIS 14 million and can reach NIS 17 million.”
Where can single-family homes be built on new land in the central region? “In the central and Sharon regions,” explains architect Boaz Snir, “there is a lot of agricultural land that has not yet been thawed, land that is being rezoned, and lots of land where future construction will be built. There is also the possibility of building in the entire kibbutzim area in Sharon, such as Shefayim, Gaash, and Galil Yam. There are areas to build private construction.”
“The land in Israel is shrinking with years,” Snir continues, “as the birth rate rises and the country decreases, there is less available land, and naturally, the price of land will rise. Land prices are constantly rising, and generally, those building detached homes are wealthy; it’s a privilege. If your dream is a detached house, you will fulfill your dream for sure; you just need to go north or south to the peripheries. If your dream is a detached home in the center, it’s a rich man’s dream.”