Rising anti-Semitism prompts Diaspora Jews to buy properties in Israel
Increasing number of European, Australian Jews are looking for a home in Israel as they consider their options, realtors say.
With the Sukkot holiday starting this week, many Israelis will be slowing down and even taking a break from work. Not in the real estate business, though – at least not among those brokers and agents who cater to foreign buyers.
Ever since the latest Gaza war ended this summer, property consultants and dealers report a sudden surge of interest among Jews abroad, primarily from Europe and Australia, in real estate investments in Israel.
The trend has less to do with speculation about where real estate prices in Israel are headed, industry professionals say, and more with a growing sense of insecurity and discomfort among Jews in these countries, following a spike in anti-Semitic incidents this summer. For many Diaspora Jews who traditionally vacation in Israel at this time of year, the upcoming Sukkot holiday is therefore likely to be exploited for property shopping.
“The phone here hasn’t stopped ringing since the end of the summer,” says Rebecca Wolman, a property consultant at Home to Home, a boutique agency run by three British immigrants that specializes in English-speaking investors. “Many of those we get calls from in England simply feel that they don’t have a future there anymore.”
Wolman estimates that the number of inquiries she’s received from British buyers since the end of the war has increased by “200 percent” compared with the same period last year. Most of these inquiries, she says, have been coming from Jews in London interested in purchasing a second home as they consider their options. The group includes individuals and families in all stages of life, she reports.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.619782
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