HOUSING CRUNCH page 33
12 MONTH
CERTIFICATE
6 .00%
INTEREST RATE
6 .1
IX
0,0
60 MONTH
CERTIFICATE
•
625%
6,39y0
INTEREST RATE
A.P.Y./*
These are fixed rate certificates of deposit that are insured by Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC). A minimum opening deposit and balance of $500.00
is required to obtain the stated Annual Percentage Yield.
FIRST SECURITY
SAVINGS BANk
CALL (810)338-7700 or (810)352-7700
"First in Service"
Main Office 2600 Telegraph Rd. Bloomfield hills, Mi 48302
*Annual percentage yield when compounded quarterly. Rate is accurate as of 6/30/95. Penalty for early withdrawal from certificate accounts may be assessed.
p,t. t a •1110 ,4,
acVthzi
Custom Clothier
Custom Made Suits From $495
Custom Made Shirts
• Benchmade Suits • Custom Made Suits •
• Custom Alterations • Accessories •
Detroit's Premiere Custom Clothier Since 1949
Appointments in Your Office or Our Showroom
Gary Wettenstein and Sheila Blum
Cf)
UJ
Over 30 Years Combined Experience
Cr)
Mercedes Benz
w
• 17 Years Experience With Mercedes Benz
•
•
•
•
•
•
GC
U_I
F-
34
(810) 646-0535
271 MERRILL • BIRMINGHAM
PAUL MILGRIM
The Best in Personalized Service
The Best Price with No Hassle
No High Pressure - Only STRAIGHT TALK!
Pick-up & Delivery with a Loaner Car
From "C" Class to "S" Class - Whatever You Desire!
Lease or Buy - New or Used
®'
Gratiot at 8 Mile
Pri368- OA* 47ga*
Desktop, Pubkshing .
WOOD MOTORS
(313) 245-0619 or 372-2600
1251 Orchard lake Boat On Sugar lee) • West Bloomfield!
18101851,7170
'FAX (81018517176
istry survey, demand for housing public tenders as a method to cre-
across the country has dropped ate demand for land and raise
over the last few months, and prices.
housing prices are gradually sta-
But Mr. Ben-Eliezer said he is
bilizing.
"not sure housing prices will drop
About 140,000 people have even if the ILA reduces prices."
rights to government-backed
The ILA uses the open tender
mortgages of up to $23,000, but method, which means there is no
this is insufficient to finance the maximum price limit. In some
purchase of an apartment. In the cases, bids have been three times
last three years, the government higher than government land ap-
has not adjusted assistance de- praisers' valuations, reflecting
spite the rise in prices.
the strong competition prevail-
Housing Minister Binyamin ing in the market.
Ben-Eliezer says the govern-
Now, however, the ILA is de-
ment's assistance will be adjust- ciding whether to change its ten-
ed "as soon as prices stabilize." der method, whereby there will
Contractors and real estate be no minimum price.
agents claim prices will only drop
The state comptroller cites a
if the Israel Lands Administra- few examples where land prices
tion (ILA) releases more land.
increased mainly because of ILA's
In the past, the public blamed marketing method. In Beit
contractors for the surge in hous- Shemesh, land per apartment in-
ing prices, claiming they hoard creased to $17,000 in 1993 from
land in order to push up home $5,000 in 1991.
prices. However, this was refut-
Similarly, in Ashkelon prices
ed in the recent state comptrol- have increased to $17,000 from
ler's report.
$7,000.
In the last report published in
ILA is also blamed for the
May, Comptroller Miriam Ben- surge in Beersheba's housing
Porat found that ILA is the main prices.
culprit in the government's fail-
Deputy Housing Minister Eli
ure to reduce the housing short- Ben-Menahem has criticized the
age and stabilize housing prices. government's marketing of land
"The rise in prices was due to in Beersheba, saying the ILA is
limited marketing of land. The primarily interested in generat-
authority had land earmarked ing funds for the government.
for immediate construction but
this was not marketed," the re-
port said.
The comptroller says that in
1994 the Housing Ministry pub-
lished tenders to build 41,800
housing units, but signed con-
tracts with the winning contrac-
tors for only 26,800 units.
Speaking at a Knesset debate
Construction of 11,000 of them three weeks ago, Mr. Ben-Mena-
was to have begun by December hem said, "To my sorrow, I have
1994, and of the rest, by mid- a gut feeling that the ILA has be-
1995.
come the Treasury's bank. All of
In practice, by the end of 1994,
the government is to blame, in-
the construction of only 5,560 had cluding the Housing Ministry. I
begun.
say this in my position as deputy
Today, the ILA holds about 92 minister."
percent of the country's land,
The ILA published a lottery to
amounting to 5.4 million acres. market 14 plots for construction
The remaining 8 percent is pri- of Build Your Own Home neigh-
vately owned. Most of the large borhoods in Beersheba's Ramot
building projects in recent years district several months ago. More
— for residential, industrial, com- than 800 people participated in
mercial or tourism purposes — the tender, which generated very
were constructed on ILA land.
high demand and led to a rise in
Last year, the ILA received prices.
about $1.4 billion from contrac-
The eighth-of-an-acre plots
tors and entrepreneurs who pur- were sold for $90,000 - $100,000,
chased land. The land component which is very high for a develop-
in the price of an apartment can ment town. In reaction, the Beer-
reach up to 50 percent, especial- sheba municipality decided to
ly in the central region.
prevent the ILA from marketing
While the potential land re- plots in the city until prices are
serves for residential building in significantly reduced, claiming
the country's six districts (the that the ILA has created an ar-
north, Haifa, the central region, tificial shortage of land in order
Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the to increase prices. The ILA de-
south) total around 600,000 hous- nied the accusations saying it has
ing units, the ILA refuses to flood plans to market more land by the
the market.
end of the year.
The Association of Contractors
More recently the ILA tried to
and Builders has started a cam- influence the price of land in Ris-
paign against ILA's method of hon Lezion by canceling a tender
marketing of land. The contrac- for the marketing of just over an
tors claim housing prices will re- acre, on the argument that the
main high as long as ILA uses bids were too low. Several days
Rise in prices is
due to limited
marketing of land.