Real estate agent Oren Katz :
Neve Tzedek reminds foreign purchasers of Notting Hill – but here you can wear sandals when you walk round
By: Guy Liberman
On a gray and rainy winter’s day last November, real estate agent Oren Katz conducted a tour of houses in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood for the wealthiest client he has ever had. The two were joined by four Russian body guards, translators, and Avraham Grant, coach of the English football club Chelsea.
“It began with a discussion with an Israeli associate of Grant’s,” Katz recalled this week. “He told me that Roman Abramovich, one of the richest men in the world, is looking for a home in Neve Tzedek.” After some time, when the contact between the representatives had grown stronger, Abramovich flew to Israel and went with Katz on a tour of the neighborhood. They focused on a number of houses that met the requirements stipulated in advance, the most important of which were large size and maximum privacy. Anyone who knows Neve Tzedek knows that the second requirement is not always easy to meet, due to the high density that is one of the neighborhood’s characteristics. A month later, it was announced that Abramovich was interested in “Chelouche House”, and had offered its owner, Marius Nacht (one of the founders of Checkpoint) 30 million dollars for it.
” Israel is small, Tel Aviv even smaller, and Neve Tzedek is simply tiny. It was therefore very hard to keep the secret of Abramovich’s intention to purchase a home in Neve Tzedek,” Katz said this week, in the first interview in which he talks about his contact with Abramovich and the way he handles the wealthy clients who have been moving to the neighborhood in the past few years.
How does one work with such clients?
“Contact people for foreign residents, and also for Israelis, get in touch with us and send us their requirements. In the last year or two, there were cases where we didn’t know exactly with whom we were dealing – even after conducting the first tour of the houses. The person I take around is not the potential purchaser, but one of his representatives.”
Abramovich came on his own in the end. Did you get him to sign the agency fee forms?
“No, definitely not. Our business with him, as with most of our clients, is based on trust. I seldom ask a client to sign the agency fee forms, and in most cases, it’s at the end of the meeting with his representative.”
The Oligarchs are discovering the neighborhood
Katz, 39, has been working in Neve Tzedek for 14 years. Today, he owns the Neve Tzedek Real Estate Agency. According to him, meetings with foreign residents, mainly rich ones, require advanced preparation so that on the first tour of homes, everything goes the way it should. One of the main rules is to strictly protect confidentiality. “We try to have the home owner not be present when we visit,” he explains. “We also don’t tell him who is coming, and we make sure in advance that he stipulates the price he is asking. That way, if he discovers who the client is – if he sees the client or hears from a neighbor or the media – he won’t push up the asking price.”
After leaving one of the houses included in the tour, Abramovich saw “Chelouche House” and asked about it. “It’s not for sale. In fact, it was sold just recently for 16 million dollars,” Katz explains. Abramovich wanted to ask the owner, Morris Nacht, whether there was a price at which he would be prepared to sell the property.
You can understand why Abramovich was insistent. Chelouche House is currently suffering from neglect, but its potential is huge: Its special history as the first house in Neve Tzedek, its rare location in the heart of the neighborhood, the fact that it overlooks the Suzanne Delal plaza, the size of the plot (1900 sq. m.), the size of the house and its large building rights, all turn the house at 32 Chelouche St. into a unique pearl in the setting of Neve Tzedek and that of Tel Aviv as a whole.
At the end of December, Abramovich offered Nacht 30 million dollars for the property. Despite it being a tempting offer, the transaction still hasn’t gone through. “Roman was ready to buy at this price, but then Nacht asked for more, so that at this stage, the negotiations have slowed down, even though they are continuing,” said Katz.
According to him, Abramovich was angry when he heard that the price had gone up. “Even if you have huge sums of money, you don’t want to feel that someone has taken advantage of you,” he says. “He heard that the owner had purchased it a short time ago for 16 million dollars, and the jump in price to over 30 million dollars seems exaggerated to him.”
Nacht is not the only home owner in Neve Tzedek who has received a tempting offer in the past year. Basically, potential buyers have knocked on the door of almost every resident of the neighborhood in the past few months, to ask if they would be willing to sell. According to Katz, top business people have been interested in the neighborhood for a few years now, but the oligarchs have only discovered it due to Abramovich. “Alongside Abramovich, there are five senior Russian business people who are interested in the neighborhood today,” he says, taking care to hide their identities.
Caption: A million dollars for a 200 sq. m. apartment
Until about 20 years ago, Neve Tzedek was considered an impoverished neighborhood, not much different from many other neighborhoods in South Tel Aviv . It has certainly always attracted attention due to its fascinating history, but its dilapidated buildings have scared off buyers from stronger sectors of the population.
The change began in 1989, when the Dellal family from London and initiated the construction of the Suzanne Dellal Center , in the heart of the neighborhood. The area in which the center is located had previously been the first educational campus established outside of Jaffa , and the Dellal family wanted its new zoning to be in keeping with the tradition of the neighborhood.
In accordance with the wishers of the donors, the Center today serves as home to a number of dance companies: Batsheva, the Batsheva Ensemble, and Inbal. In addition, musical, dance and theater performances are held at the site, as well as festivals. At the end of the 1990s, the Shuster company built a luxury residential project next to Suzanne Dellal, and, at the same time, the Municipality of Tel Aviv began developing the neighborhood.
Today, this is a luxury neighborhood for all intents and purposes. Whoever bought an apartment in Neve Tzedek four years ago, or more, has apparently made the deal of a lifetime. In 2003, the apartments in the neighborhood were priced at an average of $2700 per sq. m. In that year, the prices started to climb, and by 2005 they reached $5000 per sq. m. and even more. In other words, a million dollars for a 200 sq. m. apartment.
The prices in the Neve Tzedek Tower illustrate the change quite well. The tower was built on Eilat St., on the edge of the neighborhood. In 2004, the apartments in the tower were sold for $3000 per sq. m. In 2006, the prices shot up to $4500 per sq. m., and a year ago, they reached $6000 – $6500 per sq. m. Today, the average price for apartments and houses in the neighborhood is some 800 thousand dollars per 100 sq. m. Many houses in the neighborhood cost even more, due to their special history.
‘N,’ a tour guide, has lived for the past 12 years in Chelouche Lane. In the past year, she and her two neighbors in the building decided that they would be prepared to sell the whole building if they received a sufficiently attractive offer. The decision was reached after many agents and private individuals had recently approached the three and asked to purchase the building. “I cannot remember how many times people knocked on my door or that of one of my neighbors and asked if the apartment or the entire building were for sale,” ‘N’ says. “Some of those interested were estate agents from the neighborhood, people I know, and some were people I did not know.”
The building in which ‘N’ lives has three floors, with one family living on each level. The ceilings in the apartments are very high, and together with the wide windows, they create a feeling that the space is larger than it really is. The extensive and undeveloped garden adds to the value of the building, as well as the fact that it is a historic building, built by the Templars.
Abramovich was also interested in this building, and his representatives visited it, but he turned it down. Two months ago, the building was sold for some 4.3 million dollars to the Versano family, which deals in real estate. (The family owned Chelouche House before Morris Nacht.) Now, ‘N’ is considering whether to stay in the neighborhood. “My husband and I bought a 180 sq. m. plot on Rokach St. , a long time ago. We can build up to 500 sq. m. on it,” she says. “It could happen that in the future we will decide to build on it, even though we have received a number of offers for it as well – the highest of them for 2 million dollars.”, a long time ago. We can build up to 500 sq. m. on it,” she says. “It could happen that in the future we will decide to build on it, even though we have received a number of offers for it as well – the highest of them for 2 million dollars.”
Caption: Homes in the neighborhood with the Neve Tzedek Tower
in the background. It is possible that prices will continue to rise. Photo: Daniel Chichik
Caption: From right: Oren Katz, Roman Abramovich, and Avraham Grant during the tour of the neighborhood.
A “blind date” with a client
The increasing demand for homes in Neve Tzedek is influencing not only the owners of properties in the neighborhood, but also professionals who work in the area. One of them is Architect Eitan Kimel, owner of the Kimel Eshkolot Architectural firm, and himself a resident of Neve Tzedek. Kimel is among a very small group of architects, incl udi ng Yehoshua Kastiel, who work on the designs of most of the homes in the neighborhood that have been purchased in recent years by wealthy individuals.
“It’s like a blind date. Sometimes you start work and you don’t know who you are working for,” he says. “Only after the work starts do you meet the owners.” According to him, the home purchasers invest at least half a million dollars extra in renovations. Like the other local real estate agents, Kimel understands the new rules of the game – and refuses to reveal details about his clients.
Attorney Shai Carmel , who lives in Neve Tzedek, is also enjoying the fast expansion of the neighborhood. Some of the real estate transactions being carried out in Neve Tzedek by foreign and Israeli residents come his way, or go to two of his colleagues: Attorney Boris Lamber and Attorney Olga Levin, who is also a resident of the neighborhood.
Carmel travels to Britain frequently as part of his work with clients who want to purchase a home in Neve Tzedek. “Most of my work comes from the British milieu. They have become the largest investors in the neighborhood today,” he says. According to him, “In the last two years, foreign residents have purchased a few dozen homes in the neighborhood. Right now, I am working with five or six families from England who are looking for a home here.”
Carmel wants to disprove some of the myths that have been propagated in the last few years, surrounding foreign residents who purchase apartments by remote control, without having seen them. “No such thing, certainly not with the British,” he explains. “They are very careful and thorough. They want to see with their own eyes what they are buying. Most of them have a relative here and go around with him, or they come for a few days and check out all the details.”
In your opinion, what attracts them to the neighborhood?
“In addition to their attachment to Israel , the anti-Semitism that some of them feel under the surface and the easy dollar prices against their own currency, I think that Neve Tzedek reminds them of popular neighborhoods, such as Notting Hill and Covent Gardens , in London . Aside from this, here they can walk around freely in sandals and jeans, because no one knows them.”
According to Carmel , in the past few months, the interest shown by Russians in Neve Tzedek has increased. Kimel and Levin confirm this, and Levin claims that this is just the tip of the iceberg. According to her, once the Russians who want to come to Israel no longer need to acquire visas – which may happen soon – many of them will purchase apartments in Israel in general, and in Neve Tzedek in particular.
“There are many Russians, not necessarily Jewish, who are waiting for the time when the need for an entry visa is cancelled,” she says. “They are looking for the warm weather and the nearness to the sea, things that Neve Tzedek excels in. I expect that they will bring about an additional rise in prices, because they will increase the demand.”
Caption: A home on
Bustanai St
. Russian citizens have begun showing interest in Neve Tzedek. Photo: Daniel Chichik
Caption: Haim Shem-Tov, treasurer of the Neve Tzedek synagogue: “One of the veterans of the community was offered 800 thousand dollars for his home. At first he agreed, but a short time later, he understood that he could get a lot more, and decided not to sell.” Photo: Daniel Chichik
Caption: Chelouche House. Abramovich offered 30 million dollars. Photo: Asaf Evron
Simple people, lots of money
Even if the waves of immigration from Russia that Levin expects don’t come, the character of Neve Tzedek has already changed, due to the many wealthy individuals who have moved into the area in the past few years. Just a partial list of Israelis who have bought homes in the neighborhood in the past few years includes Shlomo Kremer, one of the founders of CheckPoint, who lives on Sharabi St.; real estate magnate Daniel Versano, who owns a building in Chelouche Lane; former Comverse CEO Zevi Bergman, who lives in a 300 sq. m. home, whose value is estimated at 5 million dollars; and Michal Ze’evi, daughter of Gad Ze’evi.
Half a year ago, Anglo-Jewish real estate magnate Ian Wilson bought a house on Sharabi St.for a million dollars. The renovations currently being carried out are costing him a million dollars more. It is doubtful whether even he knows that across from his house lives Swiss-Jewish textile magnate Sami Bollag – until recently owner of the Esprit clothing line, and currently marketing brands such as Castro and Calvin Klein in Europe. Bollag is also on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Agency At first, Bollag purchased the upper floor of the building located on Bustanai St. A short time later, he also purchased the two apartments below his, and now he comes to Israel every month. His daughter Stephanie immigrated to Israel and is now studying cinema at Tel Aviv University , and living in the home in Neve Tzedek.
In the past few months, two other well-known names moved into the neighborhood: Mario Segal – formerly among the senior executives at Amdocs, and with an interest in Gibor Sports – who purchased a home on Achva St. for some 3.2 million dollars; and the daughter of Meir Shani, formerly CEO of Clal Industries, who will be living on Harishonim St., in an apartment that cost more than 700 thousand dollars.
“The change in the character of the neighborhood is immense,” says Haim Shem-Tov, treasurer of the “Tze’irei Hamizrach Sukkat Shalom” synagogue, who knows Bollag personally. “When I saw him the first time, he was walking near the synagogue with his wife. The second time, he passed the synagogue with a resident of the neighborhood whom I know, and the two of them stopped next to me. It was during the period when I was renovating the synagogue with my own two hands.”
Bollag asked Shem-Tov if he needed help, and the answer was affirmative. “He asked me for our bank account number and left,” the treasurer recalls. “An hour later, he came back and told me that we had 15 thousand shekels in the account for the renovations. I was as happy as if I had received a million and a half dollars.”
If you enter the synagogue on Neve Tzedek St. today, you will immediately notice the extensive improvements that it has undergone. If you looks closely, you will also see a chair with the words “Samuel Poleg” (this is the original name) written on it. This is Bollag’s chair. He comes every so often to pray here. “We also have a new German-Jewish neighbor, who came to the synagogue and donated money,” says Shem-Tov. “In general, a lot of money has been moving around here the past few years. They offered one of the veteran residents of the neighborhood 800 thousand dollars for his house. At first, he agreed, but a short time afterwards, he understood that he could get a lot more and decided not to sell. From this standpoint, and from the point of view of the appearance of the neighborhood, the changes that have taken place here are good – but money isn’t everything.”
According to him, the new neighbors don’t always understand the spirit of the neighborhood. “Originally, this was a neighborhood of simple people. What do they know about big money?” he says. “I have a friend who took his bed out of his house to dry it out. An hour later, a city inspector came by, because neighbors complained that he was dirtying the street. My neighbor has been spreading bread crumbs on the street for the birds for 50 years, and they sent an inspector to her as well.”
Katz doesn’t agree with those who complain about Neve Tzedek turning into a neighborhood only for the rich. “We must not forget that we have helped complete families, who received a lot of money for their homes,” he says. “There are those who come to my office to thank me because we helped their children, and allowed them to travel abroad for the first time – and this makes me very happy. So there are two sides to the coin. If people leave, they are doing so of their own will.”
