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This is a question I get asked at least once a day during the summer months.  This year, it is mainly Americans asking the question.

In short, 6-room houses are around the 6000-7000 NIS mark, 5 room duplexes/apartments around 5000-5500 NIS, 4 room apartments around 4000-4500 NIS. The most expensive rental I know of was a furnished, Tzarfati cottage on Yosef at $2500 per month but that was a bit of an exception.

Most recently, a very charming and heavily invested in (Malibu) villa on Rechov Dan was sold for 3,750,000 NIS.  This is, to the best of my knowledge, the highest price attained for any property in Buchman, or in Modiin for that matter. The property was definitely special, the buyer wanted availability with 2 months and the seller collected close to his asking price.

Another villa in South Buchman, was sold last week at 2,450,000 NIS. The property, a detached home built by Uzan Bros. needed a lot of work and a significant financial input is necessary to maximize its potential. Once fixed up and renovated, the house could easily collect 3.2-3.5 million shekels in today’s market.

On Rechov Shimon, a Muller cottage-duplex was sold for 1,880,000 NIS. This too was a fantastic price for the buyer since the property had been damaged by flooding and therefore needs renovating. Once finished, the house will be worth at least 2 million shekels.

Wow it’s been a hectic season! Considering the worldwide economic crisis that I hear and read about, Buchman real estate seems to be in a bit of bubble, unaffected by what’s going on around the rest of the world. I have been in undated over the last 2 months by buyers looking seriously to buy this summer. The majority of these buyers are local Israelis, mainly looking to move to Buchman from other areas of Modiin.

No doubt, the time of year is a major contributor: families with school-aged kids always like to move homes during the summer months so as not to disrupt or uproot the kids during school term. No less than any other year, there have been a lot of clients looking to buy and sell their homes in order to move in by September 1. But, this traffic is already beginning to slow down and will likely die out by Rosh Hashana until spring of next year, please G-d. However, I think an even more significant factor to the demand for housing is the shortage of new construction in the area. That which is being built is 1. smaller than previous homes, 2. deep, down in South Buchman, far out from the rest of the world, and 3. nowhere near ready to move in.

So, with only a small supply of quality homes on the second-hand market, from vendors who are truly serious about selling, buyers are faced with very little selection and little bargaining power.

This is a question I get asked frequently by people considering moving to the area.  The city of Modiin is an enviable position, located midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, connected to two major intercity roads, Route 443 and Route 1, with two train stations linking the city to Tel Aviv (and Jerusalem when the route is eventually completed). Yet,  the neighborhood of Buchman, located at the southern tip of the city, approximately 1.5 kilometer from the Azrieli Mall and central train station, is considered to be far from the city center.   At present the only amenities that exist aside from kindergartens, schools and synagogues (or minyanim) are a small grocery store, a beauty parlor and a handful of private medical practices.   A walk to the Azrieli mall or central train station can take anywhere between 15 minutes from Yitzchak Rabin in North Buchman to 40 minutes from Rivka Imeinu or Emek Ha’afar in South Buchman.  There are several bus lines which operate throughout the day to/from Buchman to the city center, Yishpro center and the two train stations (see bus routes and schedules here).  However,  the bus service seems to serve mainly the youth living in the area and cleaners, nannies, etc. that are employed in Buchman homes.   This is because, almost all residents own a car…..

The good news is that the location of Buchman in Modiin provides easy driving access to/from the main intercity highways: Route 431, an extension of Yitzchak Rabin which crosses over Chashmonaim Blvd. goes straight to Rishon Lezion reducing the previous travel time from 35 to 15 minutes.  431 also takes drivers to the Yishpro shopping area, Patei Modiin train station, and to a new exit on Route 1 which is several kilometers closer to Tel-Aviv than the Latrun exit.   In addition, Route 11/12, a bypass road which previously connected Maccabim/Reut to Route 443 has been extended further south skirting the south and east sides of Buchman, before joining up with a secondary road connecting to Route 1. Recently, an exit from this road was opened, leading directly onto Rechov Esther Hamalka in South Buchman, which becomes Rechov Yosef in North Buchman.  Now, travelers coming to Buchman from the Jerusalem area via any route, or from Tel Aviv via 443, can save valuable time by entering Buchman directly from a major road. In addition, the drive time to Shilat, an industrial area just north of Modiin, which includes several smaller towns and a large array of stores and businesses, as well as Chashmonaim and Kiryat Sefer, has been greatly reduced, especially during peak traffic times.

Until now, the neighborhoods of Modiin have been named after the contractors that designed/built them, e.g. Buchman, Malibu, Kaiser, etc.   However, last week, these areas were officially renamed with more meaningful and appropriate names.  During the past six months, city residents were invited to submit suggestions for city neighborhoods and with over 300 suggestions submitted, the final names were chosen by a committee:

North Buchman: Shvatim (Tribes)

South Buchman: Moriah

Kaiser: Avnei HaChoshen (Gemstones)

Tzippor: Kramim (Vineyards)

North Shimshoni: Neviim (Prophets)

South Shimshoni: Meginim (Defenders)

Safadia: Nachalim (Rivers)

Givat C: Mesua (Beacon Hill)

Mayor Haim Bibas said, “The time has finally come, after 13 years, that the residents of Modiin-Maccabim-Reut will live in neighborhoods that reflect meaning and not go by names of the contractors.”

As summer approaches, the ‘rental season’ has begun.  Turnover of tenants usually occurs between June and end of August.  For those looking to move in July/August, it may still be a little too early to find the right place but it is certainly the right time to start putting out your feelers.    I already have a waiting list of at least six families looking for certain types of homes to rent this summer.

Most Israeli landlords set the rent in Shekels these days.  Last year, when the Dollar devalued significantly against the Shekel, many got badly burnt and received a lot less in Shekels than what they had expected.  To play it safe, they now fix the rent in Shekels.  Where the owners are foreign, it is more common to fix the price in Dollars,  sometimes using a minimum exchange rate in order to ensure that they receive a certain amount in Shekels no matter what.

Currently, monthly rental prices in Buchman are as follows (approximately):  

4-rooms: $1000

5-rooms: $1250

5-rooms with garden: $1350

6-rooms:  $1450-$1650

7+-rooms: $1700-$2200

If you are interested in finding a rental, please check out my “Properties for Rent” or email me with your requirements.

I get regular phone calls and emails asking me how the real estate market in Buchman is doing these days.    We all read and hear about the global economic crisis: homeowners in the US and UK cannot sell their homes, property prices around the world have fallen by 20,30 even 40% in some cases, home-buyers are struggling to get financing…  So what impact has this had on the local market in Buchman?  

Not surprisingly, transactions by foreign buyers have fallen over the last nine months.  British buyers, who are fortunate enough to have sold their homes in the UK,  are reluctant to convert their British Pounds at an exchange rate of +/-6.0.  These people would prefer to rent a home until their Pounds are worth more and/or property prices come down.  American buyers are more inclined to convert their dollars now that their currency is stronger against the Shekel, however, many have not succeeded in selling their homes, and even those that do not need to sell, are reluctant to pay “crazy” prices.  Further, given the economic and employment instability, buyers are more cautious and appear to prefer to rent than to buy during these turbulent times.

Having said this, there have been some sales recently but mainly to Israeli buyers.  Generally, however, these transactions have involved smaller homes that may be less attractive to the Anglo buyer.  The asking price of larger homes has remained high but in most cases those properties have sat on the market for months.  Where vendors are serious about selling, and are in-sync with the global economic situation, they have brought down their prices in order to close a deal.  For example, a villa in Buchman Darom which was first put on the market last year at 3.2m NIS is now under negotiation at around 2.5m NIS.  A Tzarafti cottage on Yosef which was originally valued at 3.5m NIS was sold this month for less than 3m NIS.  

However, two important points to note:  Firstly, Buchman is an “underdeveloped” second-hand market.  The area is young and new; most homeowners bought their home to live in.   Consequently, there are relatively few houses on the market for sale.  So, while demand has fallen this year, demand still exceeds the supply of good, practical and well-planned homes on the market.    As long as demand exceeds supply, the seller is in the stronger position. Secondly, the residential real estate market is seasonal.  Generally, interest picks ups during the spring.  People prefer to move during the summer before the new school year starts, rental leases usually expire during the summer, and overall the pleasant weather gives people the energy to start house-hunting.  This year is no different, and in the short time since Pesach has passed, I can already sense that the market has woken up.  There are buyers around and interest is brewing.    Sellers are quick to identify increased activity and interest which boosts their confidence, and their price.