Your dream home with a garden - on sale now at a kibbutz near you - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Thu., August 09, 2007 Av 25, 5767

Israel Time: 05:56 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Real Estate

Arts & Leisure

Jewish World

National

Sports

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Opinion

Business

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Travel

Q&A

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Last update - 23:13 18/06/2007

Your dream home with a garden - on sale now at a kibbutz near you

By Nurit Kaneti

How often have you driven passed charming rural communities, with lovely red-roofed houses surrounded by lush, green lawns and amazing views, and thought, "I want to live in a place like that"? How many times have you made such a statement and then packed your family into your SUV and headed home to the crowded, pollution-filled city?

In recent years more and more opportunities are presenting themselves for a comfortable life in rural and agricultural communities, due to the rezoning of land and the expansion of residential sections of kibbutz and moshav collectives. This process began with a government decision over a decade ago, with the number of new houses limited to 115 percent of the existing homesteads. The purpose of this decision was to infuse these communities with new blood and vitality, as many of their young people left and the founding population was aging.

The first to take advantage of this decision to allow expansions were the moshavim, many of which have already completed the process. Recently expansion neighborhoods have opened up in many kibbutzim; they began their rezoning plans later; and their efforts are only now coming to fruition.

	Advertisement

Kibbutz Magal, near the Beit Lid junction, for example, is offering homes on half a dunam of land (1/8 acre) for $250,000, while Kibbutz Shomrat, between Acre and Nahariya, is much less - $170,000-$180,000 - for a similar house on the same size lot. Naturally, not all the kibbutzim are selling the homes in their expansion neighborhoods at the same rate. In communities closer to the center, the houses are being snapped up. One kibbutz, in the central region, received 2,300 applications to buy houses, but their expansion neighborhood has only 130 lots. In the periphery, on the other hand, sales are much slower, although it cannot be said that any of the expansion neighborhoods is a failure.

Although the Second Lebanon War disrupted developers' plans in the North, in recent months sales have picked up in this region and are really gaining momentum.

"Four years ago there were about 20 expansion neighborhoods in kibbutzim," recalls Motti Vizel, the owner of a research and real estate strategy consulting firm bearing his name. "Now there are about 100 expansion neighborhoods in the North." These expansion neighborhoods are in various stages of planning and development, and anyone who has always dreamed of living on a kibbutz, but did not want the socialist life can realize that dream now.

The opportunities are there, and the public is responding enthusiastically. In many cases the homes literally sold like hotcakes. Last summer, despite the war in the North, 56 housing units in Kibbutz Magal, being built by Ampa Real Estate, sold in one evening.

"The advantage of expansion neighborhoods like the one in Magal is that they offer double benefits - the quality of life of a kibbutz and proximity to the center," says Benny Keret, CEO of Azimut Advertising and Marketing Research.

Most of the expansion neighborhoods, however, are in the periphery, in the North and South, but are still attracting buyers.

"Close to 80 percent of potential buyers in the expansion neighborhoods I am marketing come from the central region," says Vizel.

People looking for quiet, green surroundings are not joining the kibbutzim on which they are buying a home.

"The new residents become members of the municipal association, but not the agricultural association," explains Eyal Fanian, who markets real estate projects. "They have a say in decisions affecting services in the community and can join the cultural or school committee, but are not members of the kibbutz."

This partnership is an inseparable part of living in the expansion neighborhoods. Life there revolves around the community, so anyone who shies away from others or does not want to a committee to decide things that affect him and his family, should take into account that in most cases the new community members are expected to assume active roles and contribute their energies and talents to the others. On the other hand, there is a big advantage in the proximity to all the services families need.

"For many kibbutzim, particularly in the periphery, the expansion neighborhoods are an existential necessity. Some of them are crying out for demographic renewal," explains Dori Leibowitz, of Dorel, a rural project developer. "There are places in which no children have been born for years, and the average age is 60 or more, but all the infrastructure is there: preschools, a swimming pool, the public spaces and more."

This situation is different from the cities or completely new neighborhoods, in which buyers have to search for a suitable nearby preschool or school, and this is not always easy. Thus the expansion neighborhoods are good for both the buyers and the established neighbors, for whom the rejuvenation of their community is necessary not only to preserve the services in their locale, but also the infrastructure. One of the jobs assigned to the developers who receive permits to build the new neighborhoods is to improve the access road, the electricity and the rest of the infrastructure.

Even so, Ra'anan Aloni, CEO at Ampa says that the old infrastructure in the original residential section of the kibbutzim is not upgraded, as most of the investment is in the new neighborhood.

Buying a house and becoming integrated into a new neighborhood is different from what happens in the city.

"After choosing a location, the potential buyers sign a registration agreement with the developer, and are then screened by an acceptance committee," explains Vizel. Much has been said about acceptance committees and many complaints aired regarding discrimination and inequality, but they play an important role for the expanding community. When the Israel Lands Administration decided to permit the expansion of the kibbutzim, the decision stated that the building lots would be allocated by the ILA to recommended persons, on the condition that they are individuals with no eligibility for a homestead or land in any other rural community. The body authorized to recommend potential buyers is the acceptance committee appointed by the kibbutz or moshav.

"Interested persons are usually sent for compatibility testing," says Fanian. The committee examines their reasons for choosing that community and whether they have sufficient finances to cover the cost of the house they plan to buy or build."

Every committee has its own criteria, based on the community's needs. "Mitzpe Netofa, for example, is a national religious community," adds Keret, "and families interested in moving there must first spend a few of weekends visiting the community, to check their compatibility, because community life is particularly important there."

Usually the communities are looking for young families, in which the parents are between 30 and 35. This age group also constitutes the majority of applicants for homes in rural communities and kibbutzim, after they have tired of city life. "Older people can also be accepted," say Fanian. "After all, the communities want to be rejuvenated, but also to maintain a demographic balance, and every community has different wants and needs."

"Most places usually prefer to accept complete families, but there are some communities that are less picky, accepting single-parent families, divorcees and singles," says Vizel. "Most applicants have some prior connection to the vicinity: They either grew up there, served nearby while in the army, or like to take day trips in the area."

After receiving a recommendation from the acceptance committee, buyers are sent to the ILA, where they sign a long-term lease on the land, which belongs to the ILA. They also sign an agreement with the kibbutz or moshav, and a contract with the developer. Some expansion neighborhoods are already built, while others are designated for private construction, with the buyers paying for a lease on the land.

"As time goes by, the building lots allocated to the buyers have shrunk, and are now 330-500 square meters," notes Fanian.

Most of the expansion neighborhoods so far have been built in the North, with a few in the central region. One region that has not yet been heavily marketed, but which developers are expecting to gain momentum, is the Jezreel Valley.

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Do not panic
	It is ridiculous to claim that Friedmann's proposal undermines the legal system.


	Lucky number seven
	Six Israelis will compete in Beijing for a seventh national Olympic medal.




1.	what the hell is a hotcake	06:22	\|	nunie	19/06/07

2.	Hotcakes	17:20	\|	Lev	19/06/07

3.	Hotcakes	18:33	\|	Carissa	19/06/07

4.	Kibbutz Homes	09:58	\|	Ira	28/06/07

5.	JNF bought the land the kibbutzim are on	05:04	\|	Mirqa	09/08/07

Today Online


	Amira Hass: Hebron Jews routinely harass and bully Palestinians
	Responses: 267


	Barak: West Bank pullout conditional on missile defenses
	Responses: 270


	PA pushing for arms it says are needed to repel Hamas
	Responses: 65


	AG asks U.K. for probe material on death of reporter shot by IDF
	Responses: 166


	Editorial: Israel can't miss this opportunity to end the conflict
	Responses: 117

More Headlines
05:22 Israel sends conciliatory messages to Damascus


04:39 Missile interception system to be operational in 18 months


03:07 U.S. university heads publish petition against UCU boycott


03:48 Top Democrat: Our policy on Iraq won't imperil Israel, leave chaos


05:20 Jewish groups criticize Pope's meeting with radical priest


22:57 Incitement charges drafted against Islamic Movement head


04:11 U.K. gives London Synagogue same national status as Stonehenge


05:33 Gov't agency: Cost of disengaging from Gaza has climbed to NIS 20b


02:52 New Economic Arrangements Bill will promote public transportation