The Likud-Beitenu is committed to keeping for itself the housing portfolio in forming the next coalition government. In a series article to be published in "Globes" real estate supplement on Sunday about the various parties policies on housing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Housing has become a national socio-economic issue of paramount importance, and therefore the housing portfolio won't be handed over to a sectorial party but remain in the hands of one of the MKs in the Likud-Beitenu faction. We definitely won't transfer responsibility to a sectorial party."
Netanyahu has made this decision after apartment rises rose 50% during the term of the current government. This decision will clash with the plans of ultra-orthodox coalition partner Shas, which currently holds the housing portfolio, and intends hanging on to it in the next government.
Netanyahu has kept repeating, during his current term of office, that he will deal with high apartment prices. Yet as the administration enters its final days there has been no change in the upward trend and Netanyahu has come under enormous criticism over the fact that most housing grants have benefitted Haredim (the Ultra-Orthodox).
So what are the solutions that Likud-Beitenu proposes for high apartment prices? The party manifesto says, "The solutions are: increasing the supply of apartments in areas of demand by encouraging building, removing obstacles, and alleviating taxes for "clear and build" tracks and earthquake retrofits; implementing planning and building reform that will bring about a speeding up of approval procedures for new projects; extending the Land Committees Law, which was enacted by the government and has produced land for tens of thousands of housing units, and implementing the Israel Land Administration reform." This article is part of a comprehensive review of the various political parties' policies on real estate that will appear in the Globes Real Estate Supplement (in Hebrew) on Sunday.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 20, 2012
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