Real Estate in Safed
The Old City
Throughout Israel, when a buyer decides to purchase property, s/he either finds the property that s/he intends to buy, or contacts a real estate agent. The property is located, a price is agreed upon by the buyer and seller, and the sale is made.
Safed's Old Jewish Quarter is different. As is the case with a select few other areas of Israel, the Old Jewish Quarter is made up of properties that belonged to Jewish owners hundreds of years ago. These properties are "tabu", and buying them involves tracking down the descendents of the original owner in order to complete the sale.
This is one reason that there are so many unclaimed properties which have fallen into ruin in Tzfat's Old City, and are not being developed, even though the Old City is a desirable area where people both wish to live and to invest.
People have, however, managed to research ownership of properties and buy them, and slowly, more and more properties are being bought and renovated.
One well-known story in Tzfat concerns a young man who, upon completing a stint of volunteering in the city, located an abandoned property in the Jewish Quarter with one visible floor. In the days before emails and internet, he spent months and years tracking down the dozens of descendents of the original owners, and one by one, succeeded in purchasing each one's percentage of ownership.
Once ownership was ascertained (more than 20 years later, he is still attempting to locate the owners of the last few percentages), he began to excavate the property. Centuries of landslides caused by earthquakes, and subsequent disintegration due to neglect had created a property which was almost totally buried under dirt and rubble. Once it was excavated the house proved to be a massive 3-story house. There are still more rooms waiting to be excavated which are presently underground.
A second story, equally famous in Tzfat's modern history, concerns a buyer who had almost despaired of locating the owners of a property that he wished to buy. Just as he was about to give up, he heard about a family wedding that would be taking place in Tel Aviv for one of the descendents of the original owner. The prospective buyer went to the wedding and mingled among the guests, gathering names and addresses - after the wedding, he was able to complete the sale.
Different Neighborhoods
Real Estate in Tzfat is divided, more of less, into neighborhoods: " Old City/Artist Quarter - Old stone houses, each built differently than its neighbors. Some are renovated, some are not. Some are damp, some are not. Prices in this area tend to be among the most expensive in the city. " Darom/Cana'an - neighborhoods built in the '50s, '60s and '70s. Mostly apartments. Generally the least expensive properties in Tzfat. Many of these neighborhoods are the "Haredi" (Ultra Orthodox) neighborhoods of Tzfat, including Meor Chaim and Kiryat Chabad, though religious and Haredi residents live throughout all areas. Although these are "cheaper" areas, and the residents are often low-income, there is no problem of increased crime or "undesirable elements" in these neighborhoods - people are friendly and family-oriented.
Northern and Southern neighborhoods - called "B'nei Beitcha, Neve Oranim, Biriya, Menachem Begin and Ramat Razim, to name a few. They are mostly detached homes or duplexes and are suburban-looking. These are generally the more expensive areas, outside the Old City/Artist Quarter and generally inhabited by families.
Real Estate Agents in Tzfat:
Following is a list of SOME real estate agents in Tzfat. Phone numbers are given as if calling within Israel - if calling from outside of Israel, dial "972" and then drop the first "0" of the number.
TzfatRealEstate Yaron Jackson, 050.874.4275, Speaks fluent English
Nicole Cohen Fluent in English and Hebrew. 054-261-6199
Joy Strauss RE/MAX real estate agent 972-54-776-4877 English-speaking agent
Malka Meir RE/MAZ real estate agent 972-52-483-1938 English-speaking agent
Yigal Realator 972-52 5-323-070 specializing in Old City/Artist Quarter. Speaks English.
Doron Tzur (04)6922207
Tivuch HaGefen (04)6921031
Tivuch Ya'akov (specializes in Old City/Artist Quarter) speaks English
Tivuch HaGalil
Yad2 This is not a real estate agency - people advertise here privately and there is no fee for finding an apartment
Listings often appear on the Tzfatline newsletter -- subscribe (for free) at tzfatline@aol.com
at the Tzfat Yahoogroup -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tzfat/
on the Tzfat Facebook page -- http://www.facebook.com/groups/365315003533554/
Throughout Israel, when a buyer decides to purchase property, s/he either finds the property that s/he intends to buy, or contacts a real estate agent. The property is located, a price is agreed upon by the buyer and seller, and the sale is made.
Safed's Old Jewish Quarter is different. As is the case with a select few other areas of Israel, the Old Jewish Quarter is made up of properties that belonged to Jewish owners hundreds of years ago. These properties are "tabu", and buying them involves tracking down the descendents of the original owner in order to complete the sale.
This is one reason that there are so many unclaimed properties which have fallen into ruin in Tzfat's Old City, and are not being developed, even though the Old City is a desirable area where people both wish to live and to invest.
People have, however, managed to research ownership of properties and buy them, and slowly, more and more properties are being bought and renovated.
One well-known story in Tzfat concerns a young man who, upon completing a stint of volunteering in the city, located an abandoned property in the Jewish Quarter with one visible floor. In the days before emails and internet, he spent months and years tracking down the dozens of descendents of the original owners, and one by one, succeeded in purchasing each one's percentage of ownership.
Once ownership was ascertained (more than 20 years later, he is still attempting to locate the owners of the last few percentages), he began to excavate the property. Centuries of landslides caused by earthquakes, and subsequent disintegration due to neglect had created a property which was almost totally buried under dirt and rubble. Once it was excavated the house proved to be a massive 3-story house. There are still more rooms waiting to be excavated which are presently underground.
A second story, equally famous in Tzfat's modern history, concerns a buyer who had almost despaired of locating the owners of a property that he wished to buy. Just as he was about to give up, he heard about a family wedding that would be taking place in Tel Aviv for one of the descendents of the original owner. The prospective buyer went to the wedding and mingled among the guests, gathering names and addresses - after the wedding, he was able to complete the sale.
Different Neighborhoods
Real Estate in Tzfat is divided, more of less, into neighborhoods: " Old City/Artist Quarter - Old stone houses, each built differently than its neighbors. Some are renovated, some are not. Some are damp, some are not. Prices in this area tend to be among the most expensive in the city. " Darom/Cana'an - neighborhoods built in the '50s, '60s and '70s. Mostly apartments. Generally the least expensive properties in Tzfat. Many of these neighborhoods are the "Haredi" (Ultra Orthodox) neighborhoods of Tzfat, including Meor Chaim and Kiryat Chabad, though religious and Haredi residents live throughout all areas. Although these are "cheaper" areas, and the residents are often low-income, there is no problem of increased crime or "undesirable elements" in these neighborhoods - people are friendly and family-oriented.
Northern and Southern neighborhoods - called "B'nei Beitcha, Neve Oranim, Biriya, Menachem Begin and Ramat Razim, to name a few. They are mostly detached homes or duplexes and are suburban-looking. These are generally the more expensive areas, outside the Old City/Artist Quarter and generally inhabited by families.
Real Estate Agents in Tzfat:
Following is a list of SOME real estate agents in Tzfat. Phone numbers are given as if calling within Israel - if calling from outside of Israel, dial "972" and then drop the first "0" of the number.
TzfatRealEstate Yaron Jackson, 050.874.4275, Speaks fluent English
Nicole Cohen Fluent in English and Hebrew. 054-261-6199
Joy Strauss RE/MAX real estate agent 972-54-776-4877 English-speaking agent
Malka Meir RE/MAZ real estate agent 972-52-483-1938 English-speaking agent
Yigal Realator 972-52 5-323-070 specializing in Old City/Artist Quarter. Speaks English.
Doron Tzur (04)6922207
Tivuch HaGefen (04)6921031
Tivuch Ya'akov (specializes in Old City/Artist Quarter) speaks English
Tivuch HaGalil
Yad2 This is not a real estate agency - people advertise here privately and there is no fee for finding an apartment
Listings often appear on the Tzfatline newsletter -- subscribe (for free) at tzfatline@aol.com
at the Tzfat Yahoogroup -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tzfat/
on the Tzfat Facebook page -- http://www.facebook.com/groups/365315003533554/
Real Estate in Safed