For an additional dwelling, and a residential purchase by someone other than an Israeli-resident individual, the current schedule is 8% on the portion up to ILS 6,055,070 and 10% above it. The Tax Authority notice of 12 October 2026 extends this schedule through 2027-02-10 inclusive. Eligibility for relief must be assessed separately; no later rate is assumed. For an eligible Israeli-resident individual buying a sole dwelling, Tax Authority instruction 1/2026 sets a zero-rate band up to ILS 1,978,745. The following marginal rates are 3.5%, 5%, 8% and 10%. These thresholds cover 2025-01-16 to 2028-01-15. Buyer classification, family ownership and replacement-home conditions require individual assessment.
This is exactly what we do for buyers, so below is how the process runs step by step, how a buyer’s agent differs from the seller’s agent, and what it costs, before you engage anyone. For the wider journey, start at the Buy Property in Israel hub.
Why a buyer in Israel needs someone on their own side
In many countries a buyer’s agent is automatic and the seller pays for both sides. Israel does not work that way, and that single fact changes everything about how you should approach a purchase here.
- No automatic buyer’s-agent system. Nobody is working for the buyer unless the buyer arranges it. Ask which parties the showing agent serves and obtain the actual representation and fee disclosures.
- Confirm the agent’s actual role. Their job is to get the seller the highest price, which is the exact opposite of your goal.
- Dual representation requires prior written notice. Under the Ethics and Professional Duties Regulations 2024 (in force 9 March 2025), an agent providing services to more than one side must notify all clients in advance and in writing, and record in writing the offers transmitted through the agent. Confirm the actual representation, written fee order and any personal or referral interests before relying on the arrangement.
- Listing coverage varies. Listings are scattered across portals, agent networks, and word of mouth, with duplicates, stale prices, and gaps. Filtering that mess is a job in itself, which is why we explain it in how to vet a real estate agent in Israel.
Dedicated buyer representation closes that gap. One person builds your shortlist from honest criteria, checks each option, runs the negotiation in your corner, and hands off cleanly to your lawyer for the legal work.
Buyer’s agent versus seller’s agent: who is protecting your money
This is the distinction that decides whose interests win in the deal. Read it before any viewing.
| Buyer’s agent (us, for you) | Seller’s agent (the listing agent) | |
|---|---|---|
| Works for | The buyer, only | The seller, only |
| Goal on price | Pay the lowest fair price | Get the highest price |
| Shows you | Everything that fits, across all sources | Mainly their own listings |
| A listing’s flaws | Surfaces them so you can price or walk | Material-information and disclosure duties still apply |
| Negotiates | Down, for you | Up, for the seller |
| Paid by | You: 2% + 18% VAT, written order | The seller |
Each party’s fee obligations follow the actual written brokerage order, compare all written orders and their fee obligations before engaging more than one agent. For the full fee breakdown see standard real estate agent fees in Israel.
What the math actually says (our estimates)
Three numbers we work out ourselves so you can see whether representation pays for itself. Each one shows its basis, and these are our own estimates, not official figures.
- Our estimate, the all-in fee on a typical home: on a NIS 3,000,000 apartment the buyer’s-agent fee is 2% = NIS 60,000, plus 18% VAT = NIS 70,800, an effective 2.36% of price. Basis: the customary 2% rate plus the 18% VAT rate in force since 1 January 2025.
- For a fee comparison, calculate the agreed brokerage charge on the actual transaction price and compare total costs under realistic purchase alternatives. A proposed discount is not a guaranteed saving, and one national stock figure does not establish a standard negotiation percentage.
- Ask how the actual service verifies availability, avoids duplicate viewings and coordinates a trip. Time saved and financial benefit depend on the search and agreed service scope; no standard saving is guaranteed.
The twelve steps we run for you
Step 1: Buyer intake
We start by understanding you, not by sending listings. Intake covers your goal (a home to live in, a family base, a future aliyah base, or an investment), your situation (Israeli resident, oleh, non-resident, or buying remotely from abroad), your timeline, and who the real decision-makers are. That one conversation shapes everything downstream, because a remote non-resident and a local upgrader need very different searches, financing, and paperwork.
Step 2: Criteria building
We turn vague wishes into a precise brief: number of rooms and built area, floor and lift, Mamad (a reinforced safe room, mandatory in newer construction), parking, storage, outdoor space, and neighbourhood. Then we split the two lists that actually run a search, your must-haves and your deal-breakers, so we never waste your time on homes that were never going to work. A clear, written criteria brief is the single biggest time-saver in a market with no central listings.
Step 3: Budget review
We pressure-test the budget before the search, not after you have fallen for a flat. That means your available cash, your realistic mortgage capacity, your currency exposure if you earn abroad, and a total-cost ceiling that includes the one-time costs of buying, not just the price. For how those costs stack up, see the cost of buying a house in Israel; for financing, see Israeli mortgages for foreign buyers, where the applicable financing category and the bank’s actual approval determine the loan amount; citizenship or non-residence alone does not establish a universal 50% limit.
Step 4: Search and listing filtering
With the criteria fixed, we work the fragmented market for you, across portals, agent networks, and off-market sources, and filter out the noise that costs most buyers months. Because listing coverage differs across sources, the same flat appears under several agents at different prices, listings go stale, and details are often wrong. We compress that into a real shortlist of homes that genuinely fit your brief and are actually available. You can also browse our current homes while we work.
Step 5: Listing verification
Before you spend a flight or an afternoon on a viewing, we verify the listing is real: the source, current availability (not already under contract), who actually holds selling authority, and whether the same property is duplicated elsewhere at a different price. This is an existence-and-availability check. It is separate from the legal title check your lawyer runs, and separate from whether the price is fair, which we handle with comps at the offer stage.
Owner answers and independent checks
Listing availability is not the whole disclosure file. Review the owner-completed property questionnaire, note any unanswered questions and obtain the official references for planning claims. The broker’s own disclosure duties and your lawyer’s, inspector’s or other professional’s assessment remain separate.
Step 6: Agent coordination
We manage the seller-side agents so you do not have to. That means channelling all communication through your representative, handling the customary brokerage paperwork on your side, and making sure that an agent serving more than one side gives prior written notice to all clients and keeps written offer records as regulation 17 requires. You get one point of contact instead of a dozen sales pitches.
Step 7: Seller coordination
When it is time to talk terms, we run the communication and negotiation channel with the seller’s side: testing flexibility on price, possession date, and included items, and keeping the conversation calm and evidence-led. Negotiating through a representative also keeps emotion out of the deal, which usually protects your price.
Step 8: Professional referrals
We coordinate the independent professionals every safe purchase needs, and we keep them independent of the seller:
- An independent real estate lawyer for title checks, contract review, and registration (obtain a written, matter-specific fee quote and clarify VAT, disbursements and scope).
- A mortgage broker or banker for pre-approval and the best loan structure.
- A licensed appraiser (shamai mekarkein) when a value or financing check is needed; see how valuation and the price gap work.
- A building inspector for a bedek bayit (defects) inspection on resale homes.
Step 9: Viewing organization
Viewing organization is the logistics that turn a flying visit into a productive one. We cluster nearby homes into efficient back-to-back viewings, book confirmed slots directly with each seller-side agent, and sequence the route so a single buying trip covers the whole shortlist without dead gaps. For buyers abroad we run detailed video walk-throughs and gather the extra evidence a screen cannot show, then organize the in-person day around only the homes that have already passed the criteria, availability, and budget filters.
Step 10: Offer preparation
When you find the one, we build a defensible offer. We anchor the price on recent sold comps from nadlan.gov.il (the Israel Tax Authority record of what buyers actually paid), set the terms (price, payment timing, possession, included items), and build in the protections you need, including a financing contingency. We never let you sign binding language without your lawyer’s review.
Step 11: Contract-stage support
Through the contract stage we work alongside your lawyer, who leads the legal due diligence and the wording. We keep the deal moving, make sure the commercial terms you negotiated survive into the contract, and flag anything that drifts from what you agreed. The lawyer protects the title and the clauses; we protect the deal and your interests inside it.
Step 12: Closing-stage support
For an additional dwelling, and a residential purchase by someone other than an Israeli-resident individual, the current schedule is 8% on the portion up to ILS 6,055,070 and 10% above it. The Tax Authority notice of 12 October 2026 extends this schedule through 2027-02-10 inclusive. Eligibility for relief must be assessed separately; no later rate is assumed. For an eligible Israeli-resident individual buying a sole dwelling, Tax Authority instruction 1/2026 sets a zero-rate band up to ILS 1,978,745. The following marginal rates are 3.5%, 5%, 8% and 10%. These thresholds cover 2025-01-16 to 2028-01-15. Buyer classification, family ownership and replacement-home conditions require individual assessment.
Words worth knowing
- MLS: a service through which participating brokers share listings. Israeli broker networks and public portals have different coverage.
- Brokerage order (hazmanat tivuch): the short written agreement that fixes the agent’s fee and is required before a fee is owed.
- Mamad: the reinforced safe room built into newer Israeli apartments.
- Comps: recent sold prices of similar nearby homes, used to judge a fair offer.
- Apostille: an authentication certificate used for qualifying public documents under the relevant convention; it does not itself approve the document’s contents or replace every transaction-specific requirement.
How to choose a buyer’s agent (the short version)
Before you trust anyone with your search, run three checks.
- Confirm the licence. Israeli agents must be licensed and listed on the official Registrar of Real Estate Agents (Rasham HaMetavchim) at gov.il; licences renew yearly.
- Check the conflict. Ask plainly whether they would also represent the seller, and require the applicable prior written notice and clarify the representation and fee arrangements.
- Interview more than one. Compare how they search, how they verify listings, and how they negotiate.
For the full vetting method, red flags, and how to read a brokerage order, read our companion guide on how to vet a real estate agent in Israel.
What it costs
A buyer’s agent in Israel charges the customary 2% of the purchase price plus 18% VAT, an effective 2.36%, fixed in a written brokerage order before any viewing. Fee entitlement depends on the legal conditions, including a valid licence, a compliant signed written order and the agent being the effective cause of a binding agreement, and each party’s fee obligations follow the actual written brokerage order, so the buyer’s fee and the seller’s fee are separate. For the full breakdown of who pays, when, and how the written order protects you, see standard real estate agent fees in Israel.
Buying remotely or as a foreigner
Non-residents can buy in Israel, and we represent buyers who never set foot in the country until handover. Remote buyers sign through a power of attorney whose wording, signing and authentication route the acting lawyer and receiving institution have approved, funds move with documented source-of-funds compliance, and we run video viewings and local verification in your place. The full remote workflow, including the POA and money-transfer steps, is covered in buying property in Israel before aliyah. Buying in the city specifically? See buyer representation in Tel Aviv.
Before you engage anyone, confirm these five
- The agent is licensed (Rasham HaMetavchim at gov.il) and the licence is current.
- They represent you only, or have given written dual-representation disclosure.
- The fee is in writing: 2% + 18% VAT, subject to the actual written order and statutory entitlement conditions.
- Your own independent lawyer (not the seller’s) will run the title and contract.
- If remote, the lawyer and receiving institution have confirmed the required POA wording/authentication and source-of-funds documents.
Questions buyers ask about representation
Do I need a buyer’s agent in Israel?
Buyer representation is an optional service. Compare the actual written scope, representation and fees with your needs, and retain independent legal, financing and property checks.
What does a buyer’s agent cost?
The customary 2% of the price plus 18% VAT (an effective 2.36%), fixed in a written brokerage order and subject to the actual written order and statutory entitlement conditions. Each party’s fee obligations follow the actual written brokerage order, so this is separate from the seller’s agent fee.
Can one agent represent both the buyer and the seller?
Regulation 17 of the 2024 ethics regulations requires prior written notice to all clients when the agent serves more than one side, and written records of offers passed through the agent. The regulations took effect on 9 March 2025. A dedicated buyer’s agent who works only for you avoids that conflict, which is the whole point of buyer representation.
Can you represent me remotely from abroad?
Yes. We run video viewings and local verification, coordinate your lawyer and bank, and you sign through a power of attorney in the form and authentication route approved for the actual transaction. Many of our buyers complete the purchase before arriving in Israel.
Who pays my buyer’s agent?
You do. Israel does not use the US-style single seller-paid commission; each party’s fee obligations follow the actual written brokerage order, and fee entitlement and payment timing depend on the statutory conditions and actual written order; physical closing is not the universal legal trigger.
Sources
- Registrar of Real Estate Agents (Rasham HaMetavchim), gov.il licence lookup.
- Ethics and Professional Duties Regulations 2024 (prior written notice for multiple-side representation; in force 9 March 2025).
- For an additional dwelling, and a residential purchase by someone other than an Israeli-resident individual, the current schedule is 8% on the portion up to ILS 6,055,070 and 10% above it. The Tax Authority notice of 12 October 2026 extends this schedule through 2027-02-10 inclusive. Eligibility for relief must be assessed separately; no later rate is assumed. For an eligible Israeli-resident individual buying a sole dwelling, Tax Authority instruction 1/2026 sets a zero-rate band up to ILS 1,978,745. The following marginal rates are 3.5%, 5%, 8% and 10%. These thresholds cover 2025-01-16 to 2028-01-15. Buyer classification, family ownership and replacement-home conditions require individual assessment.
- Bank of Israel, loan-to-value limits (ordinary financing limits depend on category and eligibility).
- nadlan.gov.il, declared sold prices used for offer preparation.
Have a buyer’s agent represent you
If you want one licensed professional working only for you, from intake to keys, tell us what you are looking for. Send us your criteria and the Semerenko Group team will build your brief, work the market on your behalf, and represent you all the way through.
Have a buyer’s agent represent you: tell us what you’re looking for.
Checked 16 October 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.
