Something has shifted. In the two years since October 2023, the conversation in Jewish communities abroad moved from "maybe one day" to "how, and when". The Jewish Agency and Nefesh B'Nefesh have both reported sharp rises in aliyah inquiries and file openings from North America, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa, and anyone working in Israeli real estate has felt it directly: more calls from abroad, earlier in the process, from people who are serious.

I am the General Manager of Aliyah Partners and a real-estate attorney in Israel. This article is not about the politics of why people are coming. It is about what the wave means for the practical question our clients ask first: is this the right time to buy, and how do I do it well from abroad?

What the demand looks like on the ground

Three patterns stand out in the files we open.

  • Families planning two years ahead. Parents of school-age children who intend to make aliyah in a specific summer want the home resolved before the move, not after. They are buying ready apartments in Jerusalem, Ra'anana, Modi'in and Beit Shemesh, and they want schools and community mapped before the street.
  • "Second home first" buyers. Families who are not moving yet but want a foothold: an apartment for the chagim, for children studying in Israel, and as a hedge. Netanya, Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv coast lead here, and these buyers often rent the apartment out until they arrive.
  • Investors who think like future residents. People who want yield today and optionality later. They look hardest at new developments and at cities with strong rental demand: the Center, Haifa, and the growing Anglo cities.

What it means for prices and inventory

Israel's housing market was supply-constrained before the current wave. Land release is slow, planning is slow, and construction has been disrupted by the war and by labour shortages. Add sustained foreign demand concentrated in a handful of neighbourhoods, and the result is predictable: the most sought-after Anglo pockets (Baka and the German Colony in Jerusalem, central Ra'anana, Netanya's Ir Yamim) hold value even when the broader market pauses. Inventory in those areas is thin and good apartments move quietly, often before they reach the portals.

That is the single most important thing for a buyer abroad to understand. The apartment you see on a listing site is, by definition, the one that has not sold yet. Access matters more than search.

Four ways the wave changes how you should buy

1. Decide the community before the apartment

Buyers who start with a city and a community, and only then a floor plan, make better decisions and fewer regrets. The differences between Jerusalem, the Center, the coast and the planned cities are not cosmetic; they shape your daily life, your children's schools, your commute and the resale market.

2. Use the oleh window deliberately

New olim are eligible for reduced purchase-tax rates within a defined window around their aliyah date, and the right ordering of events can be worth a meaningful sum on a family-sized apartment. This is a planning question, not a paperwork question, and it should be settled before you sign a memorandum of understanding, not after.

3. Treat financing as step one, not step five

Israeli banks lend to non-residents, typically up to around half the property's value and against foreign income, but the file looks nothing like a US or UK mortgage application. A pre-approval before you shop turns you into a credible buyer in a market where sellers have options.

4. Do the legal work the Israeli way

There is no title insurance in Israel. Your protection is your attorney's examination of the Tabu extract, liens, planning status and, for new builds, the bank guarantee that secures your payments under the Sale (Apartments) Law. A buyer abroad needs an attorney who represents only them and who has handled remote signings via power of attorney before.

Is it the right time?

I will give you the answer I give clients. If you are buying a home to live in, or a long-term family base, the right time is when your family is ready and the financing is sound; trying to time the Israeli market has humbled smarter people than me. If you are buying purely for yield, be more selective: the premium Anglo neighbourhoods are expensive relative to rents, and better numbers are often found in the Center's second ring, in Haifa, and in well-chosen pre-construction projects.

Either way, the wave is real, and the families who do best are the ones who start early, decide the community first, and get the legal and financing tracks running before they fall in love with a balcony.

Niv Blushinsky is the General Manager of Aliyah Partners, a real-estate attorney (LL.M., LL.B.) and co-founder of City Square. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice for your specific situation.