On Monday, March 24, Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, in conjunction with the Jerusalem Post, held its annual real estate conference on business and financial opportunities for foreign residents and new olim. The conference attracted some 500 investment, mortgage, and real estate professionals from around the country. Noted journalist and commentator Yair Sherki hosted the event, which was held at the Sera Event Hall in the Elah Valley outside Bet Shemesh.
Shevy Shemer, executive vice president and head of Mizrahi-Tefahot’s Bank Retail Division, welcomed the capacity crowd in attendance and in her introductory remarks, reviewed the economic data for 2024 while providing a somewhat more optimistic outlook for the current year.
Though housing starts and completions declined in 2024, she predicted a modest increase in these numbers in 2025, to 60,000 housing starts and 55,000 housing completions. Shemer shared that housing prices increased by 7.7% percent in 2024 due to the economic recovery since the beginning of the war. She noted that housing price trends depend on several factors, including a decline in new housing starts, population growth and immigration, security concerns and rising raw material costs, labor shortages in construction, and macroeconomic conditions.
Conference host Yair Sherki then interviewed Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, and the two discussed the impact of the war on new immigrants and foreign residents, housing assistance for new immigrants, and collaboration between the ministry, private companies, and banks.
Sofer discussed the practical benefits the government is offering olim, noting the government’s decision in February 2025 that will enable licensed professionals such as social workers, engineers, educators, and others to begin their certification process before arriving in Israel, which will allow them to start working here far sooner. He also said that 519 doctors made aliyah in the past year, a significant number given the shortage of doctors in Israel following the establishment of a special division for doctors in the ministry. Sofer added that the government is providing rental assistance for new immigrants in the Negev, Galilee, Judea, and Samaria, which is expected to expand to other areas.
Sherki also hosted two panels with real estate experts on navigating the Israeli mortgage market and mortgage challenges for foreign residents. Members of the panels included attorney and notary Efrat Levy; Chaim Friedman, partner and manager at First Israel Group; Yedidya Spetter, Head of Mortgages for Foreign clients, Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank; real estate entrepreneur and social activist Nir Shmuel, and Ayelet Gonen Brosh, co-owner of the BROSH Group.
The panelists discussed the unique challenges regarding mortgages for foreign residents in Israel and highlighted their needs. Levy said that understanding the needs of foreign buyers – whether the property is for aliyah, investment, or a vacation home – is key to the purchase process.
Friedman, who has worked in the mortgage field in Israel and the US, said mortgage bankers must provide full transparency regarding the mortgage process to foreign residents. “There cannot be any surprises. If there are, the deal may fall through.”
Leading figures at Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, including Dror Feldman, Deputy Head of Retail Division, Mortgages, and Marc Reiss, head of Foreign Resident and New Immigrant Activities, also addressed the attendees.
Feldman discussed the growing interest of foreign residents in Israeli real estate, noting a 50% increase in property purchases by foreign residents in 2023 compared to 2022, which was driven by increased antisemitism globally and a post-war surge in immigration interest, particularly from the US, France, and Canada. He shared the factors that contribute to the increased demand, as well as the challenges that are present that can slow down foreign investment in real estate in Israel.
Reiss said that the beauty and agony of living in Israel was perhaps epitomized by two recent news items announced on the same day – the resumption of the war and the $32 billion acquisition of the Israeli company Wiz by Google.
He added that it was important to understand why foreign residents wanted to come to Israel, and using an illustrative chart, showed that given the current rate of growth and existing trends, in the coming years, the majority of the world’s Jewish population will be living in Israel.
The conference closed with a lecture by Yoseph Haddad, Arab-Israeli journalist and advocacy activist for Israel and CEO of “Together – Vouch for Each Other.” Haddad shared his personal journey – growing up in Nazareth, volunteering for the IDF, being severely wounded in the Second Lebanon War, and becoming a key figure in Israeli advocacy.
Haddad shared that he is proud to be an Arab and an Israeli. He suggested that it is essential for Israelis to learn Arabic and for Arabs to speak Hebrew. “Language, culture, and tradition are important for uniting Israeli society,” he said.
Coverage is from the Mizrahi Tefahot Real Estate Conference on financial opportunities for foreign residents and olim that was held in collaboration with the Jerusalem Post.