The Market, Hadar Horesh, 08.03.2020

The real estate industry experienced a shake on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this morning. The Tel Aviv Real Estate Index plunged, led by Aloni Arrow , Shikun & Binui and Shapir Engineering shares. However, it appears that in practice, the Corona fright has not yet reached the field. The developers are reporting business as usual, and even One public construction company did not issue a profit warning to the stock exchange.

"At least for the time being, there is no slowdown in construction or sales," says developer Yaakov Atracchi , owner of the construction company Aura . "On election day, the sales offices were open and there was a buoyant buyer movement, perhaps because stock markets plummeting and uncertainty drove investors to look for real estate investment opportunities."

At this point, Attrakhi does not anticipate difficulties or failure to meet its obligations to home buyers: "The decision to extend visas to Chinese workers allows the industry to continue working." Regarding the possibility of a closure of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, Attrakhi says: "Dependence on workers from the Occupied Territories is not significant, and we are well-prepared for the closure of the Occupied Territories during the three Purim and Passover days. It may be a problem if there are restrictions on the departure of workers from Israeli localities, in the form of the regional closures imposed. "To areas where the disease erupted, but we're not there yet. The estimates that the raw materials from abroad will also be discontinued - are not currently being fulfilled. "

Commercial real estate is more worrying, although here too, it is difficult to pinpoint short-term effects. Much of the demand for employment in the sector comes from foreign companies or Israeli-related companies abroad, and officials in the industry report rejection of appointments scheduled with clients abroad and in Israel. The office industry is the most sensitive industry for fluctuations in capital markets and relationships with abroad. "In Herzliya Pituah's employment area, we have seen an increase in demand in recent months," says Erez Finfair, Anglo-Saxon chain franchisee in the region, adding: "We are following developments, but for the moment we have not seen a decrease in demand or declines in closing."

Contractor organizations are less calm.Despite the resilience of the area, the leaders of the organizations warn of the possible consequences of prolonging the closure of the territories as a means of preventing the spread of the Corona virus. The closure of the territories is being discussed by the government today, and a decision on it may be made towards the end of the Purim holiday closure, this weekend. The decision will be made according to estimates of the spread of the virus in Judea and Samaria.

President of the Builders Association, Raul Sarogo, warned of significant delays in the construction and delivery of apartments. However, senior entrepreneurs in the industry we spoke with, including Atracchi, said yesterday that Sarogo's warnings were exaggerated, and even if full closure were imposed on the territories, it would have no real impact. Sarogo warned that closure would delay construction of 73,000 apartments, a loss of billions of shekels and the collapse of dozens of contractors: "The cessation of 65,000 Palestinians in the sector will put a stop to work, and a loss of product to the economy of NIS 4.56 billion a month," he warned. Sarogo asked the Ministry of Defense to take into account the severe economic consequences of the move, and called on the Ministry of Housing to cooperate in preventing the injury to the industry.