Boaz Yona, CEO of collapsed Heftsiba was arrested Thursday

Yona fled the country three weeks ago, hours before news of the collapse of his real estate development company reached the public and investors. An international arrest warrant was issued two weeks ago, when sufficient evidence to indict him for embezzlement and fraud had been collected. An independent audit of Heftsiba found NIS 70 million had been transferred to private companies in the group since March and may have been moved to overseas accounts. The report also found that Yona had dealings with entities on the grey market.

Tel Aviv Real Estate Index down 1.11%

In the real estate sector, Africa Israel lost 0.5%, Elbit Imaging went up by 1.16%, due to its second quarter reports, and Gazit Globe dropped 1.78%.

Delek Real Estate quarterly revenue triples

Delek Belron International published its financial report last week. Delek Real Estate posted NIS 1.12 billion revenue for the second quarter, triple the NIS 342.5 million posted for the corresponding quarter of 2006. However, net profit fell 35% to NIS 91.5 million because of the valuation of properties for the IPO of Delek Global in April.
The increase in Delek Real Estate’s revenue was partly the result of the consolidation of Roadchef in the UK with properties acquired early in the second quarter. Cash flow from current operations totaled NIS 156 million during the first half of 2007, of which NIS 113 million was during the second quarter.

Dark side of Jewish dream

Last month Israel's parliament overwhelmingly endorsed the first stage of a bill which would formally allow the JNF to continue its established practice of barring non-Jews from leasing land and housing held in its name - 13 per cent of the area of Israel, much of it now prime real estate. The Knesset bill has led to renewed accusations both in Israel and abroad that the JNF denies Israel's 20 per cent Arab minority access to what is in practice state land. Under the headline "A Racist Jewish State" an editorial in the center-left Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote that "the Jewish National Fund's land policy counters the interests of the state and cannot discriminate by law against the minority living in Israel.

Ultra Orthodox are seeking West Bank real estate

MODIIN ILLIT, West Bank — This ultra-religious city became the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank this year, but visitors are hard-pressed to find the orange solidarity ribbons that became standard dress among settlers since Israel's uprooting of the Gaza settlements two years ago. The ultra-Orthodox and mainline settlers are both strictly religious but have different reasons for colonizing the West Bank.

Property and Building looks to future growth

IDB Holding Corp. Ltd.subsidiary Property and Building Ltd. today published its financial report for the second quarter of 2007. The company posted a net profit of NIS 40 million, up 81% on the corresponding quarter of 2006. Revenue was unchanged at NIS 229 million, but rental income and storage services revenue rose 9% to NIS 102 million.
The company owned 1.6 million sq.m. of property worldwide at the end of June, and had 230,000 sq.m. of income-producing space under construction or planned in Israel.

Israel Police issue int'l warrant for arrest of Heftsiba CEO Yona

Yona fled Israel two weeks ago, mere hours before the public learned that the real estate group he led, Heftsiba, was crumbling. The police suspect that fraud and embezzlement were involved, by company officials and possibly by officials at banks that lent money for Heftsiba projects as well. The banks deny any such criminal behavior on their part. The international warrant means that all countries that have extradition treaties with Israel would be obligated to return him if he is caught on their territory, as long as he isn't a citizen of the particular country.

Stanley Fischer : Israel's economy will not suffer dramatic impact from US market crisis

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said Monday that the crisis that hit the US market last week would not have a dramatic impact on Israel's economy. "At the same time, US real estate prices rose dramatically until the end of 2006 when the real estate market entered into a mini-bubble and prices started to fall in some areas in the US and so there are people who can't pay off their mortgages."

Israel Real Estate Taxes You Need to Know About

If you're involved in real estate transactions, whether buying, selling or renting, you need to know about any taxes you may be required to pay. Here's an overview of the main real estate taxes.

Haredim deliver population boom to West Bank

The settler population is growing twice as fast as the rest of the country every year, and the ultra-Orthodox community is responsible for approximately half its annual growth. In the last year, the settler population has grown by 5.45 percent, from 260,932 to 275,156. The growth rate in the ultra-Orthodox Beitar Ilit and Modi'in Ilit is higher than most places in Israel. Modi'in Ilit's population, some 40,000, grows annually by about 11 percent (this year it has grown by 12.5 percent). Beitar Ilit's population, some 35,000, grows annually by some 10 percent - five to six times more than Jerusalem and Tel Aviv's population growth respectively and twice as much as the growth of many other settlements.

The Tel Aviv real estate stocks opened its trading week positive

The TASE had a strong start to the new trading week as expected, thanks to the u-turn on global markets at the end of last week triggered by the US Federal Reserve's board's willingness to help ease the credit crisis in the markets. The leading indices were traded in positive territory from the early hours of the morning, as real estate and second line stocks led the way with a strong upward correction. The real estate sector climbed 3.54%, Leading indices traded up: the TA-25 climbed 1.76% to 1,056.42 points, TA-100 rose 1.88% to 1,026.94 points and the Tel-Tech gained 2.87%.

The lesson is, "buyer beware"

The police issued an arrest warrant for Boaz Yona, Heftsiba owner and CEO, on suspicion of committing severe offenses: fraud, money laundering, breaking the securities and real estate laws and pocketing the money of people who purchased apartments. The banks also knew that the Hadera project was stuck, and they heard on the news that the purchasers were squatting in the apartments. Why didn't they rush to request a court order forbidding Yona from leaving Israel? Now it will be much harder for them to collect the large debt.

Israel offers to invest in West Bengal

Israel's biggest real estate company, owned by billionaire tycoon Mordechai "Monti" Zisser, has found West Bengal to be a good partner for its Indian investments.
In Bangalore and Pune, EMI is building shopping malls, hotels and luxurious condominiums. Other Israeli real estate firms, like Fishman Holdings, Mivtach Shamir Holdings, Nochi Dankner and Gershon Salkind, are following suit, and investments range from $50 million to $1 billion. Roads, power plant projects, desalination plants to help India with its coming water crisis now have substantial Israeli investment.

Israel historic properties to surge in price on betterment tax reform

The Tax Authority has a surprise hidden in the 2008 budget. Along with cancelling sales tax and cutting purchase tax on real estate deals, the government this week approved a hike of 'historic tax' on real estate transactions. According to the decision, betterment tax levied on historical property owners will increase by 2 percent in 2009, stretching from 14 percent on transactions involving property acquired before 1948 to 26 percent on the sale of property purchased in 1960. From 2010 on, tax will increase by 1 percent annually.

Tel Aviv Real Estate 15 Index lost 2.52% Today

Worries overseas sent most shares tumbling again, Africa-Israel led the decliners, shedding 2.59% on the back of the continuing weakness in its London-based subsidiary, AFI Development plc (LSE:AFID). The ongoing weakness in real estate stocks also continued to affect the Tel Aviv 75 Index, which fell 2.63% as it continued to be one of the most volatile of the market's indices, due to its substantial exposure to the real estate sector.

El-Ad Properties $1.2B New Frontier Sale Closes

A partnership of El-Ad Properties and Property & Building Ltd. has completed its $1.24-billion acquisition of 34.5 acres fronting the Las Vegas Strip, according to Globes, an Israel business news publication. Located across from Wynn Las Vegas, the site of the now shuttered new Frontier Hotel Casino is slated for a multibillion redevelopment. The transaction was not reflected in Clark County, NV online property records on Monday.El-Ad Properties is a private real estate developer owned by Yitzhak Tshuva. El-Ad owns among other things the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

Africa Israel Investments

In recent years Africa Israel has pursued a global strategy of: strengthening its international status; focusing on core activities in real estate, construction & infrastructures, energy, related industries and finance: expanding business activities and maintaining growth through innovation and entrepreneurship; developing and managing large scale projects in diverse locations worldwide; consolidating its strength and build up sustainable net income on a solid basis; Leveraging its management capabilities and capital to attain future growth.

British-Israel buy IKEA Israel property

Bronfman Fisher Investments Ltd. subsidiary Isralom Properties Ltd. (TASE:ILOM) and British-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE: BRTS), controlled by Leo Noe, have jointly bought the IKEA Israel store in Netanya for NIS 175 million from Blue Square Furniture Ltd., a subsidiary of Bronfman Fisher Investments, and the IKEA franchisee in Israel. Isralom will own two-thirds of the building, and pay NIS 116.7 million; British-Israel will own one-third through Azo-REIT Commercial Centers Ltd., and pay NIS 58.3 million. The IKEA Israel store has 23,715 sq.m. of main and service space. Matthew Bronfman and Shalom Fisher control Bronfman Fisher.

Judge ordered to register Heftsiba CEO Boaz Yona's property

Earlier Wednesday, the Tel-Aviv District Court ordered confiscation of Yona's property as a result of a request made by one of the companies pressing charges against Heftsiba, Peninsula Finances Ltd.

Property values in the burgeoning suburb have skyrocketed

Not too long ago, Modi'in was known as a place that delivered a high standard of living for bargain prices. Not anymore. In the past month, let alone the past year, israel real estate agents say, property values in the burgeoning suburb have skyrocketed. modiin is One of Israel's first planned cities, today it houses some 70,000 people and is expected to expand to accommodate 120,000; yet even an expansion of that magnitude may not be enough to meet the current demand.

Israel safe from mortgage crisis

One of the main differences between the Israeli and the US market is the use of mortgage financing and saving ratios and differences in the ease of acquiring a mortgage. Unlike the almost 'automatic' approach in the US for approving household credit, in the case of Israel there is a much more rigorous evaluation of the applicant's loan servicing capabilities as a condition for mortgage approval.

Israeli tax update - home rental income

In past years the exempt amount (NIS 4,200) was almost double and many landlords were unaware of the new lower exempt amount. Therefore, they missed out on the "opportunity" to pay 10% tax within 30 days after receiving the rent. The draft bill proposes to let these landlords pay the 10% tax plus interest within 30 days after the amendment becomes effective. That date will only be known if and when the draft bill is enacted.

About 4,000 buyers have been left without their properties

JPost.com - Ordinary folks, who have staked practically everything they own to acquire an apartment, are left high and dry due to a contracting firm's failure to live up to its end of the bargain. Despite the thick legal armor that Israeli law makes available to shield buyers, many venture into the marketplace without the securities to which they're formally entitled. This is precisely the misfortune of a sizable segment of the clientele of the Heftsiba construction company, which is now in court-ordered bankruptcy-protection to avoid seizure of its assets by creditors: About 4,000 buyers have been left without the properties they purchased from Heftsiba

Heftsiba seeks bankruptcy protection

"Heftsiba real estate financial troubles seem to be a result of an obvious cash shortage," said Yuval Ben Zeev, an analyst at Clal Finance Batucha. "Also, there seems to be an element of possible fraud involved, as the company said that profits from their projects were much higher than they really were. But, I am not sure what the trigger was - they stopped delivering goods and couldn't complete projects, and then it was only a matter of time before their lender backed out."

Tel Aviv stock exchange real estate index closed down 6.7%

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) opened today following Friday’s sell-off and uncertainty on international markets, especially Wall Street. In addition, the TASE will have to cope with the crisis in the local real estate market caused by the collapse of Heftsiba Building Development & Investments Ltd., which, although not a public company, controls several public companies and is heavily in debt to the banks and other companies. In late trading, the major indices were near their worst points of the day, with the Tel Aviv 25 index closing down 3.69%, the Tel Aviv 100 index down 4.15%, and the Real Estate 15 index down 6.74%.

AFRICA ISRAEL PURCHASES 76.5 MILLION EURO REAL ESTATE IN BULGARIA

Israeli conglomerate Africa Israel Investments has bought land with office buildings in Bulgaria’s Black Sea coastal city of Varna, a company official said. Africa Israel Investments’ business development manager Akiva Azulay told SeeNews that “It is a big plot and part of it is built and the other part we are going to develop.” The company is controlled by billionaire Lev Leviev and operates in the real estate, energy, hotel services and infrastructure sectors. The company also has a commercial project and two residential developments in Sofia.

TASE closes down again

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange closed down again Thursday, after sharp losses on Wednesday due to downward trends in foreign markets.The Real Estate Index lost 1.28%. The US dollar value remained at the same exchange rate was set by the Bank of Israel at NIS 4.3370. The euro rose 0.081% and its exchange rate was set at 5.9287.

Real estate stocks dropped for the first time in three days

Israeli stocks dropped for the first time in three days Wednesday, following declines in global markets as concern over US subprime mortgages spread. Real estate stocks including Africa Israel Investments Ltd. led the retreat. The TA-25 Index tumbled 23.46, or 2.1 percent, to 1,097.71 at the close, as all shares in the measure fell. Investors traded about NIS 2.43 billion of shares and convertibles.

Eilat's 'entertainment city' awaits final approval

The entertainment city will offer visitors Broadway-style shows, a water park influenced by the US Sea World chain, a huge play area for the children designed in the spirit of Disney World and Disney Land, spacious shopping and dining avenues, night clubs, a golf course, sports and spas. The entertainment city will be built east of Eilat, on land that stretches north over 1,300 dunam from the Red Sea to the Rabin Border crossing to Aqaba.

Igal Ahouvi and Yitzhak Tshuva bought Jelmoli Holding’s portfolio of 88 properties

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - A consortium led by Israel's Delek Real Estate (DLKR.TA: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Tuesday it agreed to buy properties worth 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.8 billion) from Switzerland's Jelmoli Holding AG (JEL.S: Quote, Profile , Research)(JELN.S: Quote, Profile , Research). Delek has bought 88 prime Swiss properties in partnership with its London-listed subsidiary Delek Global Real Estate (DGRE.L: Quote, Profile , Research) and Igal Ahouvi's Blenheim Properties.