Bar Lavi, globes.co.il

Who is willing to pay NIS 50,000 per square meter in a new apartment without parking? It turns out that there are quite a few, and not only in central Tel Aviv. The private car, like the co-operative routes on the coastal road and Ayalon, makes sense, on the other hand, few households in Israel are able to manage without a vehicle at all and rely only on public transport and other alternatives.

"The starting point is that the Israeli is not ready to give up the car yet," says Ily Bar, co-CEO of Eco City, who plans and builds urban renewal projects in central Tel Aviv. New downtown without parking. This is a trend that I believe will only grow stronger. "

Bar explains this in the unique nature of Tel Aviv, which he says allows for a good quality of life even without having a vehicle under the house. There is an alternative transportation available such as buses, utility taxis, scooters and a reasonable network of bike paths. "We are building ten projects in the city center, and in three of them we are also selling apartments without parking. Whoever buys an apartment without parking does so because it fits his lifestyle and that it pays off for him."

Guy Laxman, vice president of the Israeli Building Reinforcement Company, which builds about 50 TAMA 38 projects in Tel Aviv, says that in Tel Aviv, people are ready to buy an apartment without parking to live in and not just as an investment apartment. "The buyers of the regular 3-4 room apartments usually live right next to the project. They know the city center, work in their area and love the area. Sometimes it's tenants who decided to buy and sometimes housing improvements." He says anyone who comes out of town, even from other cities in Gush Dan, is not at all prepared to hear about paying those amounts and staying without parking.
Bar claims that even in the luxury segment of downtown Tel Aviv, not everyone insists on parking. "We have penthouse buyers who did not require parking and it paid off. People who compromise at this point, even in the luxury segment, can get a high-quality apartment, but at an attractive price."

Laxman describes things a little differently. According to him, a luxury apartment or penthouse 140-150 sq.m., which costs around NIS 8-10 million, is almost impossible to sell at this price without parking. In this case, developers have to find creative ways to find solutions and provide buyers with parking. Providing parking, the developers take other steps like dividing the large apartment into two smaller apartments, which creates other problems for the developer, such as the need to pay double the amount of the municipal parking lot (ransom parking) which stands at about NIS 50-70,000 per housing unit.

Save half a million shekels and park on the street

The waiver of the parking is worth quite a bit of money. "In an average apartment in Tel Aviv in the area of ​​100 square meters, the value of the adjacent parking is about half a million shekels," says Bar. Instead, the developers pay the municipality a ransom for parking, and sell the apartment at a much lower price than the price with parking.

Parking without apartments is a common product in central Tel Aviv, but it cannot be concluded that residents of the area do not own a car. Residents have simply become accustomed to a situation where they do not have adjacent parking and are looking for street parking or one of the city car parks that give high discounts (50% -75%) and even free night parking. This means that people may prefer to save the high cost of parking, but do not give up the vehicle.

The person who is supposed to provide a solution in this case is the municipality, which charges the municipal parking fund. Any contractor seeking a building permit is required by the municipality to provide purchasers with parking solutions, whether it is parking construction or a fee for using a public parking lot. However, the local committee is authorized to grant the contractor an exemption from parking construction provided it pays to the municipal parking fund. With this money, the municipality is supposed to grant parking in a nearby public car park. However, this is only a partial solution, and many controversies have emerged over the years around this issue.

"The bottom line," says Barr, "is indeed an ideal deal for those who do not use heavy vehicles and use them mostly rarely and on weekends."

Meital Lehavi, Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and the owner of the city's transport portfolio, thinks that funds that go to the parking lot should be used for other purposes besides parking for vehicles. "I expect that in light of the reduction of private car parking standards and the policy of encouraging public transport, in the future, the funds will also be used for public transport terminals or for the construction of logistical complexes in line with the upheaval in the transport sector."

Do not stop at the borders of Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv may be accustomed to traveling without an adjacent vehicle, but it turns out that apartments without parking can also be found in other cities. "There has been a significant change in recent years," says Lior Roth, CEO of Misgav Housing Complex, a company that markets projects to the largest construction companies in Israel.

Roth says that, in principle, in areas close to the light rail in central Israel and Jerusalem, authorities are trying to reduce the number of parking spaces in accordance with the new parking standard. If in the past 4-5 apartments were given two parking spaces per apartment, the municipalities are now trying to limit that. "The process is indeed beginning, but there is such a trend. In Jerusalem, for example, on Jaffa Street, we had a project we completed four years ago and the municipality approved us to sell apartments without parking at all because we were only 100 meters from the light rail."

Do you think the Israelis are ready to give up the vehicle or at least the parking?

"Not really, people still want two parking spaces. Most buyers of these apartments are investors who do not necessarily live in them. But the global trend is restrictions on private vehicles and on public transport and other solutions, and it is beginning to seep. Relief, people realize they can only settle for one vehicle. "

What's the price gap?

"The cost of parking in Gush Dan outside Tel Aviv is NIS 200-300,000, and in Tel Aviv it also comes to half a million shekels. If less parking is produced, it is significant."

He adds that "where municipalities allow us to give up parking, they don't even charge ransom. That's the trend."

Roth looks at Manhattan, and he is particularly optimistic. "Manhattan has once had a crazy parking shortage," he says, "but in recent years, when cooperative transportation services like Uber have gained momentum, there is no shortage of parking in Manhattan. On the contrary, there are parking spaces that people cannot rent."

And what's good for New York is good for Israel, too?

"It's part of a global trend. If they restrict the entry of vehicles into the big cities like they do in the world, I believe that will happen here, too."