Deutsche Bank initiates coverage of Africa-Israel Properties

Deutsche Bank has initiated coverage of Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY) subsidiary Africa-Israel Properties Ltd. (TASE: AFPR) with a "Buy" recommendation, which the bank admits "is going against the grain", and a target price of NIS 280, nearly double Sunday's closing price of NIS 148.70.

Netanya - City by the sea: Ir Yamim

Netanya is the favorite destination for many overseas residents who want a holiday home in Israel; it is located in the center of the country and is a seaside town.

In relation to the total population, Netanya has the largest number of overseas residents. According to rough estimates, it has an overseas population of nearly 9 percent, most of whom have a house or an apartment that they use as a holiday home.

Global avalanche hits Tel Aviv

The Tel Aviv Real Estate 15 Index lost a further 1.23% today, a decline which now leaves it 40% adrift of the high it reached in May 2007.

Much has been written about this sector in the past year but as the new year begins, the performance by real estate stocks can be summed up in one word - a bubble. This, however, does not contradict the fact that the current slump in share prices in this sector will probably create quite a few buying opportunities in the future. But that is how it works on the market.

Israel real estate purchases by Americans said to be slowing

"It is really the dream of so many American Jews to be able to own a piece of property in the Holy City and the Bank of Jerusalem has helped a large percentage of them in making it a reality," he said, estimating that the bank handles approximately 40 percent of all foreign mortgages in Jerusalem. "We are more familiar to people in New York than in Herzliya and we can attribute our success to the fact that we have built our activities specifically for foreigners."

Insiders buy real estate shares as TASE slides

Shari Arison, Nochi Dankner, Yitzhak Tshuva, Alfred Akirov, and Mordechai Zisser are among the controlling shareholders buying up shares in their companies.

A number of controlling shareholders in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) listed companies have been exploiting the falls in share prices to buy up shares, either themselves or through holding companies. The weakness in international markets in the past few months has not spared the TASE.

Delek Real Estate, Kardan near Dankner Investments deal

Delek Real Estate added that, if the deal is closed, it expects to report a net capital gain of NIS 40-60 million. The net capital gain will total NIS 70-100 million including a 40 percent deferred gain, assuming an equal value for Dankner Investments and Kardan Real Estate.

A deal to sell Dankner Investments to Azorim Investment, Development and Construction Ltd. (TASE: AZRM) last year was called off.

Delek real estate to sell bonds

Delek Real Estate Ltd., the Israeli property company that bought 12 Frankfurt-area supermarkets last month, plans to raise 800 million shekels ($210 million) in a bond sale to refinance existing debt and fund new investments.

The securities have been rated A+/stable, Ma'alot-The Israel Securities Rating Co. said in an e-mailed report on Jan. 4. About 340 million shekels will be used to repay loans and 460 million shekels to fund acquisitions, Ma'alot said.Delek plans to acquire income-producing real estate leased to quality tenants, rather than develop its own.

Israelis embrace stronger shekel in contracts

Figures released by the central bank on Sunday showed that the share of new rental contracts denominated in dollars dropped in recent months, from about 68 percent in October to 62% in November, compared to about 85% of all contracts in January 2007 and 90% in 2005. The bank said homeowners were switching to shekel-linked leases due to the weakness and volatility of the dollar.

Hanan Schlesinger, CEO of Anglo-Saxon real estate, told The Jerusalem Post last month that in the second half of 2007 about 75% of the agency's rental deals were fixed in shekels. "Assuming the dollar remains at current levels, I believe that within a year nearly all rental contracts will be denominated in the local currency," Schlesinger said.

Six questions for 2008

Many of the participants in TheMarker's survey of forecasts for Israel's real estate sector in 2008 are sunnily positive. They think the boom that began three years ago will continue, whether in the center or perhaps the north and south, too.

Yet some glimpse clouds on the horizon. Here are some questionable areas.

Jelmoli sues Delek consortium over property deal

"We are asking for the completion of the purchase agreement and also the payment of the agreed purchase price, and additionally compensation and interest of eight percent per year," Jelmoli CEO Harald Pinger told Reuters.

"We filed the legal case today at the trade board in Zurich against Blenheim Properties, Delek Global Real Estate, Delek Belrom International as well as a Swiss special purpose vehicle," Pinger said.