Minister of Finance (Yesh Atid) Yair Lapid has spoken out strongly for the need of the current administration to lower housing costs in Israel. Cabinet ministers meeting to discuss the nationwide housing shortage unanimously approved the construction of 150,000 public housing long-term rental apartments.
Lapid explains the government is working to remove as many bureaucratic hurdles as possible in the hope of building the public housing units within ten years. A quarter of the apartments in the program will be slated for preferred professions, such as teachers, police officers, and nurses.
Globes reports however that the investment community is “unimpressed” as it does not see a possibility of regaining an investment as a result of the restrictions surrounding the public housing and this will require state assistance towards providing low-risk investments for developers.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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And since they will be government apartments, the government decides who gets to live in them (hint: it probably won’t be anyone we know).
Israel should consider capitalism. Eliminate all the restrictions on private investments, eliminate government attempts to control the markets and price for goods, and supply will quickly rise and prices will end up falling.
A good step in the right direction. It may also be a good idea to educate the public, especially young couples, about the fundamentals of having your own home, including the comparative economics between buying and renting. Demonstrative knowledge should be recognized through reduced occupancy expenses.