“In the end, we will be like Barcelona – and the residents will rise up”
The multitude of apartments used as hotel rooms affects the prices of residential apartments – which continue to rise due to a lack of supply. Experts interviewed state that the government and the municipality should take responsibility for the issue through legislation and regulation. “Every investor who buys an apartment today has an interest in turning it into a hotel room rather than a long-term rental.”
“When you take apartments and turn them into tourist accommodations – in unwanted quantities – the supply is reduced, leading to an increase in rental prices.” Maayan Nesher, former housing coordinator in the budget department of the Ministry of Finance, said Thursday to the trade press. This follows the publication of a study, which showed that the proportion of apartments rented via Airbnb in Tel Aviv is much higher than in other Western cities.
“The neighborhoods of Tel Aviv will resemble those of Barcelona and Amsterdam,” she also stated.
“We believe that we need to increase the supply of apartments and we are working to influence policies that will increase supply, which does not reflect the measures currently being taken by the government.”
