Globes, Hadas Magen, 04.05.2020
Eli Abyssror , CEO of Family Construction Company Moshe Abyssror & Sons, who also serves as chairman of the Beersheba Contractors 'Organization, is quite convinced that the state will recognize Corona as a supreme power, as far as the real estate industry is concerned, as the contractors' union has demanded since the beginning of the epidemic. The estate works only at a partial output of 35% -40%, because many of the foreign and Palestinian workers were forced or preferred to return to their countries of origin.
The slow work on sites creates a chain of delays, which makes it difficult for contractors to meet the deadlines they have committed to.
What do you see in sales with your company?
"We closed the offices. There were telephones, who was interested and pressed, sales executives moved with him. Last week people started coming, there is interest, but not as before."
Were there cancellations?
"There are requests for postponement of payments. There are a small number of cancellations, but it is still unclear. People have not recovered yet."
Near the outbreak of the Corona crisis, the company came out during a marketing campaign and offered potential home buyers to rent an apartment in one of its projects.
Abyssror: "We offered to pay only NIS 10,000 as down payment and the balance of payments only after the end of the Corona crisis. This is how the buyers set the price for themselves and can cancel the deal without a commitment. We received many inquiries and we also sold ten apartments.
"We are still in the process. The sales offices are closed, and we do not expect that there will be an ongoing flow."
How will the situation in the economy affect the real estate sector and prices?
"The needs for apartments have not diminished, but we have nevertheless asked the government to come to our contractors and lower the purchase tax (for a second apartment) to 5% (now the purchase price for a second apartment stands at 8%), to repay investors."
Why do you see the need to repay investors if the demand for apartments does not decrease?
"In the coming days we will see a slowdown. In the future there will be accelerated land marketing, which I believe will continue in the future, but as of these days, the tax is on the high level, which was raised at the time by an hourly directive. To increase sales, we are giving NIS 4 billion each month as a result of indirect taxes, and the state has an interest in these taxes. "
And what was your impression, that there is an understanding of your approach?
"There is understanding. There are more than a million unemployed people here and it will have an impact on buying apartments. Some people were on the verge of signing an apartment purchase, and would not buy at the end of apartments. % And there are those in 1%. The banks went wild, so we asked for the intervention of the Treasury. This policy will keep both first-hand and second-hand buyers away.
"Another issue that we have asked, which relates to the second-hand housing market, is to extend the period when buyers (who purchase a second apartment) undertake to sell a first, one and a half year apartment. All of these are in the emergency plan that the contractors' association has accessed to finance. This is one of the levers for removing the industry from the crisis. The February preceding the crisis was one of the good months for the industry, and the Corona crisis changed everything. "
The Treasury told "Globes" in this regard that as long as there is no new government, there is no change in policy.
You build a lot in Be'er Sheva. How do you think the situation will affect the real estate situation in the south?
"Talk about the fact that in 25 years, the population of Israel will grow to about 15 million, and in that, in the south and the north - in each of them, there will be an increase of one million. If you look at the south, there are now 800,000 residents, so if you talk about the increase Of a million inhabitants, the population more than doubles.
"The prime minister must establish a housing policy cabinet that will also include public figures who look 30 years ahead and not just one term. There will be no escape from living here in the Negev, and there is no reason not to come here if there is a promise of high-income work, plus a grant of NIS 300-400,000 for a family that will commit to living here for at least ten years. The population must be removed from the center, the south and the north. Most of the land is here - 33% of the land. "
What happens to all Southern Development Programs? There were hopes in the USSR, which would come here en masse, and did not happen, because they did not want to live in the south. The cyber center, the high-tech center - all the things they talk about as a lever for the development of Beersheba and the south in general - what's up with that?
"The city of HaBad is established and the base is operational, but did not come to live in the south. Talk about the establishment of intelligence bases in the south, which are supposed to absorb about 30,000 military personnel. "
High Court / Photo: Eyal Yitzhar, Globes
Yes, but in the end, what happened with the city of the Badass will happen, the bases will be set up but the military will not arrive. Not in droves and not at all.
"As of today, the officers do not want to come, but if they are rewarded, I am sure it will bring many families to live in the South, without retaliation one can forget it. And it must be one big basket.
" I believe that is what will happen. In the end, a cost-per-plan plan has not proven itself. It hit the residents of the south and north, because those who won the lottery in these areas received a benefit of about NIS 150,000, while those who won the lottery in the center received a benefit of NIS 650-700,000.
"Then in the end the opposite goal was achieved: strengthen the center and the strong. They did not distinguish between those who really needed assistance and those who did not, and distributed apartments from all over, in Rishon, Be'er Ya'akov, and other places in the center of the country. All this keeps people away."
You build quite a lot in Ashkelon. What is going on there?
"The Ministry of Housing has marketed thousands of housing units and does not see great demand. It is precisely these days that the state's involvement in reducing, or even canceling for a certain period, the purchase tax; to give relief in its mortgage, reduce it even more so that the young couples purchase apartments, despite the Corona crisis. ".
Do you have an estimate of how this event will affect the center?
"In the near future, we will feel it, but in the long term, demand will come back. The state does not market land, demand will increase. Land should continue to be marketed on a large scale to prevent price increases. I do not think grants should be given in the center area. A free market for land marketing needs."
What is the situation today, in terms of the output of the real estate industry?
"About 7,000 of the 15,000 construction sites are still closed. Trying to find solutions, but it's not easy."
It probably won't allow you to deliver apartments on time. Do you think there will be flooding of lawsuits against contractors because of late delivery?
"I hope the government will recognize this event as a supreme force. The buyers of the apartments should also be understanding, especially if it is a delay of several months and not for long periods."
Why should they show understanding? If they have to vacate an apartment, and their apartment is not ready, which is why they are forced to pay a few months rent, why should they carry it on their backs?
"We cannot pay these rents. By law, we have to pay 150% rent. It is impossible, and if the government does not recognize this event as a supreme power, the courts will have to make decisions. There is a statistic that cannot be ignored; Work, fewer sites get workers. We are also affected by banks raising mortgages. I hope this will be a short period and perhaps we will avoid delays. But the real estate industry is a growth locomotive of the economy and the state cannot ignore it.
"If the state wants to continue to maintain real estate tax revenues, it must give the contractors a lifeline, which will allow the industry to roll. Even if we accept some of our demands, but the contractors are very hard to meet on a daily basis, and the state has to keep an eye on it. "