Buchman

How did Buchman become so popular?

Buchman, located in the south of Modiin, was planned to be the ‘exclusive’ residential area of the city.  Unlike the rest of Modiin which is comprised mainly of apartments and other multi-family buildings, Buchman consists of mostly houses.  Development of the first stage of Buchman, known as Buchman Tzafon (North Buchman) began in 2002.  Plots of land were sold off to Kablanim (contractors) who built ‘projects’.  In a project there could be one, two or sometimes three different variations of the same home.   The streets, which are named for the Shivtei Yisrael (Tribes of Israel) e.g. Yosef, Shimon, Binyamin, Yehuda are wide, with large homes, spacious gardens and significant space between the houses.  Most of the homes are semi-attached cottages (du-mishpachti) while some are single, detached  houses (villas).  The Kablanim built homes ranging between 175 square meters to 250 square meters on either two or three floors.  These projects attracted a large number of Anglo buyers who were looking for spacious homes and gardens, somewhat comparable to their homes back in chutz la’aretz.  Most buyers bought “on paper” and were able to make modifications to their homes during the building process.  Today, many of these homes have been expanded, e.g. basements have been enlarged, rooms built into attics, galleries closed off to provide additional living space.  (It is important to find out whether any renovations or expansions were undertaken with legal permits.)

Once Buchman Tzafon was sold out, the next stage, Buchman Darom (South Buchman) began being marketed and built.  Buchman Darom is basically anywhere south of Shivtei Yisrael Street.  In this area, homes were built generally smaller than in Tzafon (150-175 square meters), with significantly smaller yards and subsequently smaller gaps between the homes.  However, since at that point in time, Buchman had already established it’s name and attracted many religious buyers it was clear that a great community was in the making and many, many more buyers bought into the projects.

Tzafon vs. Darom?

Buchman is now a thriving, young community.  Some distinguish between Tzafon and Darom but really it is one and the same community.  Aside from the size of houses and gardens, the main difference is that Darom is more heavily concentrated with religious residents (both Anglo and Israeli) while Tzafon contains more of a mix of religious and secular population.    Some also argue that generally Darom residents are younger (mid 20’s to mid 30’s) while Tzafon are more established families with somewhat older children.    

Yael Hagibora St., Buchman Darom

Housing availability

Today, there are still a few new projects being built in Buchman, however, the homes are generally apartments or small duplexes, located on or near the main road that leads to Reut, and estimated to be ready in 12-24 months.  The prices are relatively high for new developments.   Most Anglos who want to move to Buchman now buy into the second-hand market.   There is always a choice of properties available ranging from apartments or duplexes to cottages and villas.

Construction continues in S.Buchman

Population

The population of Buchman is diverse.  Residents come from a wide range of countries including the US, UK, Canada, South Africa, Australia, France, South America and of course Israel.    The precentatge of religious is approximately 60%, where ‘religious’ is anything along the ‘dati-leumi’ (modern-orthodox, Zionist) spectrum.    There are a few conservative residents and no chareidi families.  The religious population in Buchman is estimated to be 50% Israeli and 50% Anglo, where many of the Israelis are themselves the children of Olim from English-speaking homes. Most couples are in their late twenties to early forties however there are a significant and growing number of grandparents moving in to the community wanting to live closer to their kids.  

Amenities and facilities

Aside from the homes, Buchman contains a large number of kindergartens to accommodate the many young residents of the area, a religious elementary and high school, parks, a few small stores and a couple of private medical practices.  There are a number of Kehillot that have formed minyanim, some of which are in the process of building their own premises (e.g. Beit Knesset Ashkenaz) and plans for a Mikva are underway.  Generally, it is necessary to own a car in order to benefit from the large array of shopping, services and amenities that the city of Modiin offers. The Azrielli mall and central train station, both located in the city center, are about a five minute drive from Buchman.  

Modi'in Train Station & Azrielli Mall in City Center

To read about the market trends and real estate prices in Buchman, please see my blog.

If you would like to find out about properties in other areas of Modiin, please contact me and I will be happy to put you in touch with a recommended agent.

© Copyright 2009 Debbie Goldfischer.  All rights reserved.