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Squaring up with Tel Aviv's prime real estate By Guy Liberman Tags: israel news A rare plot of land in Hamedina Square, in the heart of Tel Aviv, recently changed hands for $6,000 per square meter. The price is extraordinarily high, given that the world is groaning in recession and that, in fact, the land still isn't eligible for development. A businessman bought 185 square meters in the circular open space for NIS 4.48 million, and that's just for the land. The circle of open space is actually owned by 150 separate parties. Although it is far from finalized, a plan is taking shape to zone the spot for 452 apartments in three high-rises with 29 stories each. Advertisement Despite the plan's embryonic nature, over the years pieces of the land have changed hands several times, with the price of each transaction depending on the proportion of building rights associated with the deal. In this transaction, the land in question includes the rights to build three apartments, so the price represents an NIS 1.5 million ($375,000) cost of land per apartment. That's before so much as a single brick has been laid. In May 2007, NIS 10 million worth of land in Hamedina Square changed hands, reflecting a price of NIS 1.1 million land cost per apartment. In other words, the price at which the piece of land changed hands is 35% above the price for similar land just two years ago. A 2005 deal prices the land startup at $278,000 per apartment. This year's deal was done through Kfir Zohar, Anglo-Saxon franchisee for Tel Aviv, who sees two reasons - ostensibly contradictory - for the sharp increase in price. One is that the development plan is making progress in its painful crawl through the corridors of bureaucracy. The second is that even so, actual construction is a long way off and some of the landowners are losing their patience - they want to sell, and the demand for the land they're offering is immense. It isn't every day that land in the very heart of Tel Aviv is offered for sale. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Celebrity conversion Lindsay Lohan is said to be converting to Judaism for her DJ girlfriend. Settlement expansion Peace Now: Israel planning 73,300 new homes in the West Bank.

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