Kahlon unafraid of paying political price for housing crisis
Finance minister tells Calcalist conference, ‘I promised to provide young couples with apartments, and that’s what we’re doing’; says he expects investors to release tens of thousands of apartments into the market.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) said Wednesday that he is not afraid of paying a political price if he fails to reduce housing prices during a speech delivered at a conference organized by leading business daily Calcalist.
“I don’t know what will happen. I’m not afraid of a political price if apartment prices don’t drop. I promised to provide young couples with apartments, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The minister said that in his opinion, the feeling and general trends in the market were changing, particularly among investors. In the past, he said, investors would typically purchase 600 apartments a month, a figure which has no been reduced to 200.
“We expect investors to release tens of thousands of apartments into the market. The increase in purchase tax for investors and the matter relating to third apartment tax rates are keeping investors away. The supplies are beginning to have an impact,” he said.
Kahlon promised that the government would not stop building and providing larger supplies until the number fo apartments exceeds the number of people.
"We have lands, planners and marketers. This is a record year in planning and marketing. The lands belong to the state, there are no middlemen anymore. We will place on the market 100,000 apartments next year. In addition, we will slightly change the mix in order to allow home improvers to participate too," he continued in an effort to convince his listeners that his strategy could facility the much-needed delivery.
“I have never searched for an easy life. I know that the real estate market is difficult, that it’s a market with groups with vested interests, and that’s natural. There are power groups there. The studies don’t match reality. I respect the Central Bureau of Statistics. There are no building starts because people see that there is no rush to buy apartments, there are no investors and the supplies keep growing.”
After being heckled by protestors, Kahlon went on to address the public housing issue. “I don’t know why you’re saying that there is no budget. There is more than NIS 1 billion in the 2017-2018 budget. We have raised some more money to narrow the gaps, in public housing too, in more investments in the periphery. We have given NIS 14 billion in assistance to the north, and this is not the end of it. We can always invest more."
“The manufacturers’ demands are real. We will move on with public housing and closure of the gaps. That’s where I come from, that’s what interests me. It’s my agenda. I was born in public housing. People without an apartment are the greatest generator of poverty.”
