Two court rulings may affect homes on church land in Jerusalem. One court refused to block a land sale near the King David Hotel. Another ruling may help about 1,000 owners, hotels, and public bodies with similar leases.

The state also approved marketing for a 40-floor tower at Jerusalem’s entrance. In Kiryat HaYovel, the local planning committee recommended rejecting a large renewal plan because the developer promised owners too much extra space.

Elsewhere, G City plans to sell NIS 6.1 billion of assets. A rental fund is buying 26 new flats in Arnona. Agamim in Ashkelon had more sales at lower prices. Y.H. Dimri cut its Sde Dov price estimate by NIS 5,000 per square meter.

Two court rulings may affect Jerusalem church-land homes

Parts of Talbiya and Rehavia sit on land leased from churches or through the Jewish National Fund, known as KKL. You can own the flat but only lease the land below it.

The Jerusalem District Court refused to stop the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate from selling about 5 dunams, or half a hectare, on Emile Botta Street. The land is next to the King David Hotel and the French Embassy.

Investors said a 1999 deal gave them rights there. They asked the court to freeze a sale to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. Judge Avigdor Dorot said they waited too long and did not give the court key facts. The Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal. Their main lawsuit is still open.

The church holds about 570 dunams in Talbiya and Rehavia. Around 900 homes, hotels, and public buildings stand on that land. Read more in Calcalist, August 21.

The second ruling came from the Central District Court in Lod. It concerned a 1.8-dunam former orchard in Rehovot. The court said the lease had unusual terms because of how KKL made the deal in the 1950s.

TheMarker, August 20 says the ruling may help about 1,000 flat owners, hotels, and public bodies in Jerusalem with similar subleases. KKL leases that former church land, which US developer Extell bought in 2022.

Before buying on leased land, ask your lawyer three questions: Who owns the land? When does the lease end? What could renewal cost? Our guide to freehold and leasehold in Israel explains the basics.

Jerusalem committee points to 25 extra square meters as the standard

Jerusalem’s local planning committee recommended that the district committee reject plan 1300805 on Mexico Street in Kiryat HaYovel.

It is a pinui-binui plan. This means old buildings are demolished, new buildings are built, and the owners receive new flats.

Kol HaIr reported the decision from a committee protocol it received. The city has not yet published that protocol, so these details rely on the report.

The developer promised 35 extra square meters per flat. At Mexico Street 8 to 14, the promise rose to 43 extra square meters. The plan also offered balconies of at least 15 square meters, extra storage and roof space, and two new flats for some owners whose current homes are at least 140 square meters.

The committee said these promises created too many homes and too much building space. It pointed to the government urban renewal authority’s standard of up to 25 extra square meters. A 43-square-meter addition is 72% above 25 square meters.

The committee also objected to public land being included without agreement and to open spaces that city engineers said would not work.

A bigger promise is useless if the plan cannot be approved. Owners should ask whether the offer can pass the planning committees. Kiryat HaYovel has another large renewal plan moving forward. We covered it when Engel Invest secured its majority in the neighborhood.

A 40-floor tower moves forward at Jerusalem’s entrance

The Israel Land Authority approved the marketing plan for Compound C, lot 5. The state can now offer the land to bidders for 90 days.

The plot covers 5.279 dunams and has about 99,400 square meters of building rights. The plan includes a 40-floor tower, an 8-floor building, offices, shops, hotel space, culture halls, underground parking, and about 230 flats tied to the employment uses. The winner must meet fixed deadlines.

The full Jerusalem entrance project covers about 300 dunams. It has more than NIS 1.5 billion in public funding and plans for more than 1.5 million square meters of work space.

A new transport hub will link the government quarter, Mahane Yehuda, and the city center. The next facts to watch are who wins the tender and when building begins.

G City plans to sell NIS 6.1 billion of assets

G City, controlled by Chaim Katzman, plans to sell most of its residential assets in Europe and the United States. It also plans to leave Brazil.

The company expects to receive about NIS 6.1 billion by the end of 2027. It will focus on properties that earn rent in Israel and Poland, according to Globes, August 20.

The plan came after a deal to sell control of G City to Tzachi Abu’s Ari Nadlan collapsed.

Second-quarter net rental income was about NIS 359 million, down 12.9% from one year earlier. Net profit fell about 64% to NIS 83 million. Debt is above NIS 21 billion.

Katzman will hand the chief executive role to Keren Khalifa in early October 2026. The key number is how much money G City actually receives from completed sales.

A rental fund is buying 26 new flats in Arnona

Azorim Living will buy 26 new 3-, 4-, and 5-room flats in Arnona for about NIS 76 million. It will rent them for at least 10 years.

Delivery is planned for November 2026. Expected rent is about NIS 2.4 million a year.

The filing values the flats at NIS 95.6 million on the open market. Their value falls to NIS 81.3 million after the long rental restriction is included, according to the Globes weekly property roundup, August 20.

The expected gross rent return is about 3.2% a year before costs. Similar fund purchases have happened in Ashdod, Tel Aviv, and other cities.

A Galilee kibbutz will receive 34 flats for its land

Kibbutz Kfar HaChoresh will return land to the Israel Land Authority. Gesham Holdings can then buy about 46 dunams next to Migdal HaEmek without an open tender and build 488 flats.

The kibbutz will receive rights to 34 flats worth about NIS 46 million, according to the same Globes roundup.

Gesham is already building 410 flats elsewhere in the city. It has a permit for the first 205. Together, its plans are close to 900 homes.

More supply may mean launch discounts and more room to negotiate on older flats nearby.

Agamim in Ashkelon: more sales, lower prices

Agamim had about 156 sales in the past 12 months, up from 99 one year earlier.

The average sale price fell from NIS 1.79 million to NIS 1.73 million. The average price per square meter fell from NIS 17,700 to NIS 17,000.

A 3-room flat now averages NIS 1.48 million. A 4-room flat averages NIS 1.65 million. A 5-room flat averages NIS 1.98 million.

The gap between the most and least expensive streets is about 6%, or around NIS 100,000 on a typical flat. The figures come from a Bizportal review of recorded sales.

Agamim is still a new neighborhood. People began moving there in 2015. Only about 1,000 of the planned 3,100 flats are built, and thousands more homes are being built nearby.

Typical rent is about NIS 5,000 a month. That gives a gross rent return of about 3.5% before costs on a NIS 1.73 million purchase.

More sales at lower prices means buyers have more choice and more power to negotiate. Compare each street and check which services are open today. Our guide to coastal apartments without Tel Aviv prices explains how Ashkelon compares.

Dimri cuts its Sde Dov price estimate by NIS 5,000 per square meter

Y.H. Dimri sold 397 flats in the first half of 2026, up from 335 one year earlier. Part of the rise came from government-discounted Mechir LeMishtaken homes in Kiryat Bialik. Net profit fell by more than half.

Its busiest sites were Ashkelon with 144 sales, Ofakim with 72, Kiryat Bialik with 63, and Kiryat Gat with 27.

At Sde Dov in north Tel Aviv, Dimri has sold only 40 of 455 flats. Only 10 sold in the first half of 2026.

Dimri now expects the remaining flats to sell for about NIS 62,000 per square meter. The flats already sold averaged NIS 67,000. That is a cut of NIS 5,000 per square meter, according to Globes, August 20.

Buyers should use NIS 62,000 as the company’s current price estimate when negotiating.

Shikun and Binui’s operating profit fell 69% to NIS 84 million after fewer flat deliveries in Europe and a weaker dollar. Net profit rose 70% to NIS 241 million because of a one-time NIS 307 million tax benefit. Its construction backlog reached NIS 18.5 billion, according to Globes, August 20.

Azrieli’s malls recorded 8.3% more shopper spending than in the war-hit quarter one year earlier. Net rental income was NIS 651 million, while data center income fell, according to Globes, August 20.

One-time gains can make profit look stronger than the regular business.

Sources

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Written by Chaim Semerenko and the Semerenko Group team
Founder and CEO, Semerenko Group

Semerenko Group makes Israeli real estate clear for English-speaking buyers, renters, olim, and investors, and connects serious clients with the right licensed professionals.

Published by Semerenko Group under the professional supervision of licensed Israeli real-estate broker Pinhas Menachem Reiss (License #324150). We provide information, technology, and introductions. Not legal, tax, or financial advice.

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