"Hang on with apartments, it will pay off," was the message from Minister of Finance Yair Lapid, head of the Housing Cabinet to the Israeli public in an interview published in "Yediot Ahronot." Lapid expressed absolute confidence that his plan to bring down home prices will succeed and he answered his critics aggressively.
He said, "On my 60th birthday in 2023, everyone will come and apologize and ask forgiveness for the 150,000 apartments for rent that will be built throughout the country as I promised.
Lapid repeated his pledge that next year prices will fall, "By the end of 2015 you will see a two digit fall in prices. Don't run to buy apartments. It is better to wait and I promise it will pay you to do so."
Lapid added, "The contractors will be forced ultimately to lower prices. Whoever tries to buy an apartment after the law will go find a bottleneck that will be created, and prices will jump. We recommend waiting if you care about your money. If you wait you will earn a lot of money. That isn't just my forecast but also by the Housing Ministry. By the end of 2015 there will be a double digit fall in prices. By the end of this year I expect prices to stabilize and stop and next year small falls will begin that will continue to strengthen."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 24, 2014
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