In recent weeks, several data releases and decisions have painted a complex picture of planning policy in Israel, from the volume of building permit applications for urban renewal to rulings by appeals committees that are holding back well known projects. For anyone weighing a purchase, sale or investment in north Tel Aviv real estate or in Ramat HaSharon, these trends are worth understanding not as passing news but as a tool for making decisions.
What happened and what changed
A review by the research department of the Madlan website found that across eight major cities, the number of housing units in urban renewal permit applications fell by 51% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year. Tel Aviv saw the sharpest decline of all, from 5,775 units in the first half of 2025 to only about 998 units in the same half of 2026, a drop of 83%.
By contrast, cities such as Haifa and Holon recorded a significant jump in applications, a trend attributed in part to a relatively small supply of unsold apartments there, unlike Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where the larger inventory of new homes weighs on the pace of new projects. In addition, the expiry of TAMA 38 (tama 38) in most municipalities, together with rising construction input costs, is also contributing to the change in the pace of permits.
How it works in practice: committees, standards and metro plans
Advancing a building project passes through several institutional stages, from the municipal planning and building committee to the district committee, and at times an appeals committee that reviews earlier decisions. A prominent example is the cancellation of the Herzliya planning and building committee’s approval for Acro’s Rubin compound plan, which includes two towers and 180 housing units, after the district appeals committee ruled that no separate, thorough discussion had been held on whether the plan conforms to TAMA 70, the national outline plan for the metro area.
The decision is seen as a precedent for other plans within the zones of influence of planned metro lines. It establishes that checking conformity with the national outline plan cannot be done merely in passing while hearing objections, but requires an independent procedure. At the same time, other plans make the preservation of historic buildings a condition for advancing new construction, as seen in the plan for a 35 floor office tower in the Diamond Exchange district in Ramat Gan, which includes preserving an old factory building and transferring it to municipal ownership.
What to check before a north Tel Aviv real estate decision
Before buying, selling or investing in a property that is part of a planning process, it is advisable to check what stage the relevant plan has reached, whether it was deposited before or after new national outline plans such as TAMA 70 came into force, and whether it depends on further hearings or pending appeals. Gaps of this kind can delay projects even after they have received initial approval.
It is also worth examining the permit situation in the specific area, since the data show wide gaps from city to city and even from neighborhood to neighborhood, depending on the existing housing supply and on how mature the urban renewal market in that area is. Reviewing the state of infrastructure, current building standards and accessibility requirements, as they also appear in building preservation plans, is an integral part of assessing whether a deal makes sense.
What this means for north Tel Aviv real estate and Ramat HaSharon
The Tel Aviv property market, and north Tel Aviv real estate in particular, in areas such as Ramat Aviv Gimel, Neve Avivim, Ramat Aviv HaYeruka and Afeka, sits within the trend in which urban renewal permit applications have fallen sharply across the city. For those looking at apartments for sale in north Tel Aviv, this means that the pace of new pinui binui (evacuation and reconstruction) and TAMA 38 projects may slow, which could affect apartment prices in Tel Aviv in the medium term, mainly in areas where many projects have already been carried out in recent years.
In areas such as Bavli and the Old North, where urban renewal projects are common, it is important to check the planning stage of each project on its own merits rather than relying only on the fact that a plan was submitted in the past. The Herzliya example, where an advanced project was halted because it did not conform to TAMA 70, shows that even long standing projects can run into significant delays if their conformity with current metro plans has not been examined, and a similar issue may arise along planned routes in the Tzahala and Tel Baruch area.
In Ramat HaSharon real estate, where urban renewal activity is relatively limited compared with Tel Aviv, the national decline in permit applications is less directly relevant, but it may indirectly affect the availability of housing stock across the entire metropolitan area. Investors and sellers alike would do well to follow the combination of factors, including the level of mortgage interest rates, the permit situation in the area and the requirements for preservation or conformity with national plans, before deciding on a deal.
