Every sales office for a new project will tell you it’s “the next hot neighborhood.” The real question is how to tell marketing promises apart from genuine signs of future value growth. The best way to answer that is to look at a neighborhood that’s already completed the full journey – like Ir Yamim, home to the Solimar project – and use it as a benchmark when evaluating a project in a neighborhood still mid-journey, like the Havazelet project. In this guide we walk through six things actually worth checking before buying an apartment in Havazelet or an apartment in the Solimar Netanya project.
1. Approved infrastructure vs. “planned” infrastructure: Havazelet vs. Solimar Ir Yamim
There’s a massive difference between infrastructure that’s already been approved and budgeted, and infrastructure that only appears on a marketing rendering. Before buying an apartment in Havazelet or any project in a developing neighborhood, it’s worth checking directly with the Netanya municipality or the Israel Land Authority which infrastructure (roads, schools, retail centers) is already formally approved versus still in planning. Ir Yamim, home to the Solimar project, by comparison, has already reached the stage where all its infrastructure exists and functions – that’s exactly the point a developing neighborhood like the one around the Havazelet project is aiming to reach.
2. Who’s actually buying an apartment in Havazelet right now
The population that moves into a new project first is a useful indicator. If most buyers in the Havazelet project are investors looking purely for a cheap entry point, that signals the market isn’t yet confident about the upside. If families are also buying an apartment in Havazelet to actually live there, that’s a more positive sign – families generally scrutinize a neighborhood’s long-term potential more carefully than an investor focused mainly on price.
3. Actual distance to the sea: Havazelet vs. Solimar Ir Yamim
“Close to the sea” is a marketing phrase that can be stretched to mean almost anything, whether for the Havazelet project or any other development in a developing neighborhood. It’s worth measuring in practice – how many minutes on foot, whether there are barriers along the way (a main road, a rail line), and how that compares to the actual distance in Ir Yamim, where most projects, including Solimar, sit a genuinely short walk from the beach. A gap of even a few extra minutes on foot can meaningfully affect future demand, even when the distance looks similar on a map.
4. Who’s developing the project, and what they’ve already built
Tracking a developer’s past projects – in other Netanya neighborhoods or nearby cities – gives a much better picture of whether they meet timelines and deliver actual build quality, rather than just what’s shown in a rendering. This applies whether you’re evaluating an apartment in Havazelet or the Solimar project in Ir Yamim – though for a more established project you’ll typically find more information from current residents, while for a younger project you’ll need to rely more on the developer’s track record elsewhere.
5. The price gap versus a comparable mature neighborhood
This is the most practical test: when you compare price per square meter in the Havazelet project against a comparable project in Ir Yamim, like Solimar, the gap between the two is essentially the “theoretical appreciation potential” – but it only materializes if the new neighborhood actually reaches the maturity level of the established one. Worth asking yourself: what exactly needs to happen for that gap to close, and how long is it realistic to expect that to take – and what happens to your cash flow if it takes longer than expected.
6. Taxes and closing costs: Havazelet vs. Solimar Netanya
On purchase tax, there’s no regulatory difference between an apartment in Havazelet and an apartment in the Solimar project – the tax is determined by the buyer’s status (single home, replacement home, or investment property) and the property’s value, not by the identity of the project. That said, because Ir Yamim properties – including the Solimar project – tend to be significantly more expensive than properties in a developing neighborhood like the one around the Havazelet project, both the actual purchase tax amount in shekels and the equity required are meaningfully higher at Solimar. This is an economic factor worth weighing from the very start of your comparison, not just before signing.
What this means for your financing at Havazelet or Solimar Ir Yamim
Regulatorily, there’s no difference between a mortgage application for an apartment in Havazelet versus one in Solimar – loan-to-value percentages are set purely by the buyer’s status. But the bank’s appraisal for a property in a developing neighborhood tends to be more conservative, precisely because of the uncertainty described above – so it’s worth planning for more flexible equity when evaluating an apartment in Havazelet or any other project still in its development stage, compared to an established project like Solimar.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you know if an apartment in Havazelet will actually appreciate?
Mainly by checking which infrastructure is formally approved (not just planned), the profile of buyers moving in, and the real distance to the sea – not the promises in the marketing materials.
Is the Solimar project in Ir Yamim a good benchmark for the Havazelet project?
Yes – Ir Yamim has already completed the full journey from developing area to mature neighborhood, making it a useful benchmark for evaluating similar potential around a project like Havazelet.
Should I check the developer before buying an apartment in Havazelet?
Absolutely – meeting timelines and build quality on that developer’s past projects is the most reliable indicator available, especially for a comparatively younger project.
Is there a difference in purchase tax between Havazelet and Solimar Netanya?
Not in percentage terms – tax is set by the buyer’s status alone. But because of the price gap between the two areas, the actual amount in shekels is significantly higher at Solimar.
Is financing harder for an apartment in Havazelet than in Solimar?
Not regulatorily, but bank appraisals for the Havazelet project tend to be more conservative, so it’s worth entering with more flexible equity.
