Research proposal: kfar David and the Mamila Project

The Local Phenomena of growth of foreign real-estate buyers in central Jerusalem.

For the 2nd assignment we have chosen to deal with the extremely relevant and up to date phenomena regarding housing in central Jerusalem. This issue of purchase of apartments and land in Jerusalem by foreign residents and new immigrants is creating few sub-phenomena’s that are affecting the real-estate market and the dwelling options in the city.
During this process money from outside of Israel is creating new standards in the prices of the real-estate market, and changing the local existing and new practice of dwelling opportunities in Jerusalem, mainly in the center of the city.
By the research we have made so far, based on a paperwork by Jehonatan Leurer, which deals with the subject we had identified three main scenarios that are accruing at the last four years since 2003:
There is a massive purchase of apartments in the inner city of Jerusalem by foreign occupants. This activity is defined in numbers by the average amount of 13.2% from all the existing apartments in the inner neighborhoods of the city as opposed to 1% in the outer circle neighborhoods. The forecast for 2015 is a growth to 30%!
There is an increase in the prices of the real-estate market in the neighborhoods of the inner city like Talbia (170%) and Rehavia (120%) as opposed to Kiriat Yovel (10%) and Talpiot Mizrach (7%).
The general increase of property prices in Jerusalem compared to the national average of property prices is in the ratio of 5:1.
There are a large percentage of the apartments, purchased by foreign occupants, which are empty of tenures most of the year. According to the article of Keren Lee Bar Sinai, that have done a research of the water consumption in the apartments in the inner city neighborhoods, there are some 7340 apartments that their water consumption is lower 8 times than the standard usage.


There are a few sub- phenomena’s that we have identified regarding the issue:
Renovation, maximization of building possibilities (maximized usage of land, housing TABA and etc.).
New investments in the development of luxury projects that are marketed mainly to foreign buyers.
Lack of affordable housing for local residents with medium/low income.
“One way” immigration of local population from the inner-city to outer areas of the city.


To analyze these phenomena’s and to understand their full impact on the city life we have chosen the project of Mamila-Alrov Quarter which includes the Mamila Street project and the Kfar David residential compound.
The Project was build instead of a slums neighborhood, as part of a process of an initiated gentrification of the entire area in front of old-city walls. Nowadays the area is one of the most luxurious compounds in Jerusalem, affordable only for a specific type of population.