Safed medical faculty helps double city's real-estate prices

According to Dr. Oscar Ambon, director of the Ziv Medical Center, professors and doctors who joined faculty's staff and its clinical team bought and rented property in town

Reuters | Published: 11.02.11, 10:07

The value of real-estate in the Galilee town of Safed has nearly doubled in the past two years. The reason for the increase is attributed to the establishment of the medical faculty in the city, which was inaugurated on Sunday during a special government meeting that was held in town.

Apartments that had been sold for NIS 150,000 to 200,000 now sell for twice as much. Townhouses built on 400 square meters that were once sold for NIS 600,000 to 650,000 are currently valued at NIS 1.1 to 1.2 million.

According to Dr. Oscar Ambon, director of the Ziv Medical Center, professors and doctors who joined the faculty's staff and its clinical team have bought and rented property in the city, especially in the Neveh Oranim and Mitzpe Agam neighborhoods.

"Safed has suffered from negative immigration," said Levy Yitzhak, editor of the real-estate index. "On the one hand, there is massive purchase of homes by the haredi but on the other hand many secular people have left. Let's hope that the faculty will restore past glory and the secular people will flock back to the city."

This year, many homes were also bought as an investment. In addition, contractors expressed interest and even acquired land in the area to build apartments and hotels.

According to real estate experts, buying an apartment for the purpose of an investment to rent out to students is worthwhile in one of the older neighborhoods in town, near the college, the medical faculty and the Ziv Medical Center.

Despite the fact that Safed is heavily crowded, on the outskirts of town there is abundant land to build many housing units, if only there is demand.