Florentin apartment fetches NIS 11.5m

A Tel Aviv apartment at 44 Salame Street on the Florentin neighborhood’s southern border with Jaffa has been sold ‘on paper’ for NIS 11.5 million. The 140 square meter, five-room, 15th floor apartment with two 26 square meter balconies is being built in the Frankly project by Yuvalim and City Boy owned by Ran Belinkis and Itzik Baruch. The apartment in the 16 floor building will have two parking spaces and faces three directions.

Yuvalim-City Boy sales director Roi Dahan says that the buyer is an investor who has bought other apartments from the company and is considering living in this apartment.

Dahan says, “I have worked in this neighborhood for 14 years. If in the past and until about five years ago 95% of buyers were investors, today about 50% of buyers are ‘downsizing’ and moving to the city after their children have grown up. There are also young people and investors and the buyers are very diverse.”

On payment terms he says, “This is a deal on which payments are spread so that 7% is paid on signing the contract, 13% on receipt of the permit and the balance every year until the apartment is occupied.”

The Frankly project will include 160 housing units in a 16-floor high-rise and adjoining six floor building. Adjacent will be a 66-room boutique hotel, which will allow tenants to benefit from amenities like a semi-Olympic heated swimming pool, spa and sauna, and rooftop restaurant. Outside the building will be a small park.

The project’s presale began two months ago with prices beginning at NIS 4.14 million for a two-room 55 square meter apartment with an 8 square meter balcony but no parking.

Investors are fond of the Florentin neighborhood, which is bordered by Ha’aliyah Street to the east, Elifelet Street in the west, Yafo Road to the north and Salame Street to the south. Levinsky market is in the eastern part of Florentin.

According to data from Madlan, the average price of an apartment in Florentin is NIS 3.4 million and the average monthly rent is NIS 7,000. Over the past year 72 apartments have been sold in Florentin at an average price of NIS 59,700 per square meter.

“Globes” reported at the start of 2024 that there were difficulties in selling second hand apartments in Florentin because new projects were offering 20% payment terms now and 80% when projects are completed.

Dahan says, “The second hand market is not the strongest because of interest rates. People are less willing to take out mortgages and most deals are ‘on paper’. This year we sold more in this area than last year. We have several projects in the neighborhood; at Herzl 91, and Herzl 136-183. Prices in the area are around NIS 65,000-70,000 per square meter and today there are deals that exceed prices in the Old North and the city center. Demand comes because of the proximity to the city center, Neve Tzedek, Rothschild Boulevard and the HaMasilah (Railway) Park. “Pricing on the corner of Herzl and Rothschild streets ranges from NIS 120,000-150,000 per square meter in certain projects. So a smart investor knows how to understand the potential and the expectation for improvement.”

Real estate appraiser Danny Tarshansky of Camille Tarshansky Raphael examined the deal and said, “Analysis of the deal shows that the price is high for the Florentin area, a luxury market in an urban renewal area, similar to the price range of deals made in the area in recent months with similar specifications. This indicates that the luxury market has not had the last word despite the war.

“The area is developing both because of the proximity to the light rail that will pass near the property, and because of many urban renewal projects. Therefore, I expect prices in the area to continue to rise in the future.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on February 3, 2025.

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