Time has eroded the advantage received by winners of the "Apartment at a Discount" program

Housing | Time has eroded the advantage received by winners of the "Apartment at a Discount" program

The "Apartment at a Discount" program, under which the state markets thousands of subsidized apartments across the country, has become a coveted entry ticket to the housing market. For tens of thousands of eligible applicants, this is the only hope to purchase an apartment at a price significantly lower than market prices.

Against the backdrop of the surge in apartment prices in recent years and the spike in financing costs, it is not surprising that the lotteries attract hundreds of thousands of registrants who are willing to wait for years in the hope of becoming apartment owners.

However, it turns out that not every lottery win necessarily translates into a profitable deal. In many cases, years pass from the moment of winning until the apartment is delivered. Some projects are delayed, others are even cancelled, and the economic advantage of the winners may be eroded along the way due to changing market conditions.

For example, a lottery held in May 2023 in the city of Harish. In its framework, a price of about 11.6 thousand shekels per square meter was set, including VAT and after the discount, based on an appraisal conducted in 2022. However, the housing market in the city has changed since then: Harish has dealt with excess supply, partly due to a slowdown in the market and the accumulation of apartments from previous programs such as "Price for the Resident". As a result, apartment prices there have fallen, and the gap between apartment prices on the free market and the prices set in the lottery has shrunk.

This does not mean that every lottery within the program is not worthwhile, and sometimes the discount for winners can be significant. But this example sharpens the understanding that winning does not guarantee a successful deal.

Between the date of the lottery and the receipt of the keys, years may pass, a period during which the winners continue to pay rent, are exposed to changes in financing costs, and are forced to bet that the market conditions at the time of winning will remain relevant when receiving the keys. The discount is not measured only by the price set in the lottery. There is also a price for time, and it can significantly erode the advantage for the winners.

Maya Levin

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Regulation | Controversy in only one direction

A small chick jumps into a puddle, it rains, and the factory "starts working". This is most of the content of the advertisement by the Vegan Friendly organization, and it was enough to trigger a regulatory alarm in Israel. Not violence or offensive content, but because it, in the words of the Second Authority for Television and Radio, "takes a position on a controversial issue".

The Authority banned the broadcast of the advertisement that the organization produced with an investment of half a million shekels. Sports and cinema channels in Israel also refused to show it. As revealed in Globes, after the attempts here failed, the video will run in cinemas in the USA and on streaming in the UK, with no restrictions other than the viewer's age.

The regulatory reasoning is almost absurd. Section 11 of the Second Authority's rules is intended to prevent the recruitment of the television screen for controversial political or social propaganda - a reasonable logic when it comes to a debate about the country's borders. But is this similar to a call not to eat animals? This is not a position in a political dispute, but a nutritional preference that an adult is capable of digesting.

The same channels that refuse to give a platform to a call against eating meat do not hesitate to broadcast advertisements for sausages - which the World Health Organization classified more than a decade ago in the highest carcinogenic risk group, along with smoking and asbestos. The classification is based on more than 800 studies and remains the official position of the organization. Thus, a product with a "carcinogen" label is broadcast freely, and a counter-call is blocked.

This does not mean that every commercial advertisement must pass a health filter. No one expects the Authority to ban advertisements for chocolate because it causes holes in teeth. But when the regulatory rule is applied so selectively, it is hard not to wonder if the decision is to protect public health or is subject to the needs of an established industry.

Tomer Shamai

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Transportation | Finally, there is movement on the railway

The state really insists on making you not travel by train. Whoever plans transportation in Israel probably never uses it. Unlike the rest of the world, in most of the country, the stations are located in the suburbs of the cities and not in the city center.

In addition, there are not enough parking spaces for private vehicles, and at many of the train stations, the availability of buses from and to the station is - how to put it gently - terrible, certainly in the periphery.

Of course, the reception inside the train is also terrible. If you have ever tried to work on the train and connect to the internet, or just answer a work phone call, you probably gave up very quickly. Along too many kilometers on the train, it is simply impossible. There is no reception, let alone internet. The number of disconnections exceeds the time it works normally. Last year, almost 72 million trips were made on Israel Railways. 250-300 thousand passengers a day know very well what I am talking about.

But hey, after you have already despaired and wondered why you are doing this to yourself - except for the fact that you saved nerve-wracking hours in traffic jams on the train and fines for using a mobile phone while driving - a government step in the right direction has finally arrived. In a moment, there will be autonomous or flying cars here, AI will replace us all, and finally, the train (perhaps) will advance to the 21st century and have reception.

It won't happen tomorrow, but who said there can't be progress. Golda Meir asked to build light rails, and here, after 50 years, it happened. Let's just hope that the next government will continue to promote the improvement of reception on trains even after October, and the move will not get stuck on paper as another election economy promise.

Netanel Ariel