The recent months have demonstrated how deeply the spirit of volunteering and community contribution is embedded in Israeli society. Yet, alongside the impressive enrolment of many individuals and businesses during the war on Hamas, there are entities for whom community responsibility has long been a way of life.
For instance, RE/MAX Vision, a real estate brokerage in Jerusalem, has become a brand with a significant social presence, thanks to its business model that requires agents to lead a community contribution project in the neighborhoods they work in. "Our business is real estate, but we also take responsibility for the community", says RE/MAX Vision owner Ariyel Maresky, who spent the war's first 90 days in combat in the IDF Reserves. "Through a RE/MAX agent who lives in Jerusalem's Katamonim neighborhood, for example, we distribute food parcels to the disadvantaged in this area". The brokerage also serves as a distribution point for the 'Larger than Life' association.
"RE/MAX is a well-known real estate network both in Israel and worldwide, and its mantra is that being Number 1 is a responsibility", continues Maresky. "As a market leader in Jerusalem, we believe it's our duty to be the best we can — and not only in real estate". RE/MAX Vision is set apart not only by its social commitment but also by its embrace of diversity. Its staff includes new immigrants and Israelis, Americans and Europeans, Ashkenazim, Sephardim and Arabs, the religious and the secular. "This is what makes us different", notes Maresky. "We are all good people united around our shared values".
First class professionalism
RE/MAX Vision has more than 40 agents, who speak several languages between them. They work in Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, each specializing in a specific area and knowing it intimately. The agents themselves undergo professional training periodically to ensure they meet a top professional standard. Their commitment to excellence, and local expertise, ensure that RE/MAX's agents are able to provide successful solutions in every area of Israel's capital.
"Jerusalem is a fascinating city that houses a microcosm of two parallel cities", says Maresky. "One is old Jerusalem, Israel's eternal capital, where Jews from around the world buy apartments to give themselves a foothold in Israel. The other is Israeli Jerusalem, a major metropolis of great beauty, with some of the country's best educational institutions. For many, many years, these two Jerusalems didn't mix. Non-residents abroad bought vacation apartments in centrally located neighborhoods such as Mamilla and Talbieh, whereas Israelis lived in the city's second and third circles, such as the Katmonim, Beit HaKerem, Gilo and Har Homa".
Has this situation changed?
The war against Hamas and the surge in anti-Semitism worldwide have forced major change, according to Maresky. "There's been a very high increase in demand among Jews abroad, and they're now looking for properties that will be future homes. They're thus interested in neighborhoods further from the Western Wall and in properties large enough to accommodate whole families. For the first time, Israelis and non-residents are competing over the same real estate — which will without a doubt increase prices significantly in all neighborhoods".
How does the city's natural increase impact on the price increases? "The natural growth in the city affects rising prices as Jerusalem experiences a much higher natural growth compared to other cities, alongside a very small percentage of new construction starts", says Maresky. "So while there's a housing crisis countrywide, in Jerusalem it's particularly intense. Jerusalem usually leads the annual price increase index and the value of its properties is likely to keep rising. The rise in rental prices in Jerusalem does not keep pace with the rise in housing prices, hence investors are less interested in properties here due to the rental yield, but rather due to the anticipated increase in value".
The city's lack of land reserves makes urban renewal the major real estate horizon so hiring a widely informed realtor is significant. "Our clients find it important that we can reach broad audiences, work in collaboration with other brokers in Jerusalem, and maximize the price that can be received for a property", says Mersky. "Our particular advantages are very highly trained, super-professional agents, who have extensive knowledge of the market and specialist knowledge of the neighborhoods in which they work. As a large team, we have what's impossible for a single agent or small agency: wide, deep and professional expertise and information in every neighborhood in this amazing city".
RE/MAX's international connection
"RE/MAX has a very good reputation", he continues. "It's an international network with a first-class standard of service that has been justly earned. The numbers speak for themselves. We sell more properties, faster, and for more money. We are a part of the internation RE/MAX network, and that requires us to meet its international standards and allows us to provide the highest level of service".
RE/MAX Vision
Address: 54 Emek Refaim Street, Jerusalem
Tel: 02-673-1661
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in collaboration with RE/MAX Vision Jerusalem
