The real estate conference in Eilat for the first time today held a panel on opportunities in Judea and Samaria, which included, among others, Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan and Binyamin Regional Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz.
Dagan revealed for the first time at the conference the building permits statistics in Samaria. "One of the clear signs of a change in Judea and Samaria and the understanding by more and more investors that Samaria is not the next thing but the current thing is the number of building permits that have risen significantly in recent years."
Dagan noted that the number of building permits in Samaria has increased by 50% in the last five years. Despite the large number of building permits, house prices in Samaria rose by tens of percent and some prices have even doubled.
"This is happening because, despite the increase in the number of building permits, the demand is still greater than the supply. This means that if the State of Israel were to remove barriers and allow construction in Samaria as the public want, the growth in Samaria would not be 9% a year, as is the case today, but even 30%. This would have lowered housing prices in the center of the country," he added.
Binyamin Regional Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz stated: "An entrepreneur is not looking at what is today, but what will happen tomorrow. The trends are clear: government investment in infrastructure, transition to saturation, program approval rate, rapid entry of high-tech and commerce - all data show beyond a doubt Judea and Samaria are the future of growth in the State of Israel."