Katamonim, Jerusalem. הקטמונים

01

Where it is

The Katamonim lie in south-central Jerusalem. Old Katamon and Givat HaVradim (Rassco) are to the north, Mekor Haim and Talpiot to the east, Pat and Beit Safafa to the south, and Ramat Sharett and Malha to the west. The district is made up of eight sub-neighbourhoods, Gonen A to F, Gonen H and Gonen T, with San Simon (Gonen E) on the hill of the monastery.

Madlan splits the area in two: Katamon A–V in the north, the larger and better-off part, and Katamon H–T in the south, around HaShomer and HaNotrim streets and the circular San Martin / Givat Gonen estate. Yehuda HaNasi, Alexandrion, Kanai HaGalil and Ben Zakai are the main streets.

Green space is the big asset. The Railway Park (Park HaMesila) runs along the old railway line on the edge, the Gazelle Valley (Emek HaTzvaim) nature park is next door, and San Simon Park sits on the hill. The bus network is dense. The Purple Line of the light rail, approved in August 2024 and expected around 2031, is routed along Yehuda HaNasi and Ben Zakai.

02

From transit flats to tower plans

Building began in 1952 south of Katamon to house the new immigrants of Israel's first years. The first blocks were two storeys of four to eight small flats, owned by the public housing companies Amidar and Prazot, on large plots where residents planted figs, pomegranates, olives and lemons. Gonen H followed in the late 1950s and the denser Gonen T in the early 1960s.

The estates gained a reputation for poverty and social problems. The Tent Movement protest took place in Gonen T in the 1970s. From the 1970s many public flats were sold to their tenants, and a long Project Renewal programme combined small flats and repaired building fronts. Between 2000 and 2008 residents fought to save the Gazelle Valley from development, and won a nature park.

From 2012 the Gnei Tzion project in Gonen C and D brought a better-off population. Prices per sqm rose about 45% in the two years to March 2023, and the district is now one of the city's main pinui-binui areas.

03

What it is actually like today

The Katamonim are mixed and uneven, block by block. The municipality counts about 23,800 residents. Katamon A–V scores 6 out of 10 on Madlan's socio-economic index; Katamon H–T scores 4, with many buildings still owned by housing companies, about 41% of homes rented, and many immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia.

The stock is mostly old and small. Many 1950s and 1960s flats are 34 to 50 sqm, which is why some tiny units sell at very high prices per sqm. Around them are 1970s stone blocks in San Simon, some red-brick buildings in H–T, renovated older flats and now new towers sold off-plan.

Daily life is practical rather than pretty. Schools are plentiful: the campus between Yehuda HaNasi, Eliezer HaGadol and Alexandrion has Raot and Keshet, which mix religious and secular classes, plus Denmark and Dror high schools. Madlan's school score for H–T is 58.7 against a city average of 64. The Jerusalem Tennis Center and the Helena Kagan community centre are here.

Parking is the common complaint. Internal streets are narrow, and residents rate parking in H–T at 2.3 out of 5. Older blocks rarely have safe rooms; new towers do.

04

Renewal: the plans for the Katamonim

The Katamonim have one of the densest renewal pipelines in Jerusalem, with towers of 30 to 37 floors planned in place of two- to four-storey blocks. The largest is the Ashdar–Barzani plan around Ma'agalei Yavne, Yochanan Ben Zakai and Nehorai, which would replace 340 homes in 18 buildings with about 1,200, in towers. The local committee recommended it in December 2023; it still needs district approval.

Others are further along. Beit Yerushalmi's Katamonim City, on Bar Yochai and Yitzhak Sadeh, would turn 72 homes into 287; it had 100% signatures and a permit application filed in February 2025. Africa Israel's SOHO tower at Bar Yochai 15 is already selling off-plan, with delivery shown for 2030 to 2032. Plans at Ben Zakai 31 (210 homes) and San Martin / Bar Yochai (447 homes) were advanced in May 2025.

The Purple Line adds to the change and the disruption. Works along Yehuda HaNasi and Ben Zakai are planned through to an expected 2031 opening, crossing the Red, Green and Blue lines.

Plans are not permits. Many headline schemes are still at recommendation or deposit stage, and buildings slated for demolition will see tenants moved and years of building around them.

05

Who lives here

The Katamonim house veteran immigrant families, many in flats they bought from Amidar, alongside a large rental population, students and young couples. Bnei Akiva runs a student village in Gonen H–T, and a religious women's seminary opened there in 2022.

There is no measured Anglo community in the Katamonim itself; the established English-speaking communities are in neighbouring Old Katamon, Baka and the German Colony. Anglo guides describe the Katamonim as an emerging area. In September 2025 a five-tower project marketed as 'New Katamon', near Baka and Old Katamon and next to a light-rail stop, announced a planned Orthodox Anglo community led by Rabbi Daniel Korobkin of Toronto.

Renewal will raise values for owners and bring more affluent buyers into the towers. Renters on low incomes, especially in H–T, are the most exposed.

06

Prices and what you get

The Katamonim's 2025 median was about ₪41,800 per sqm, 13th of the 30 Jerusalem neighbourhoods we track and about 15% below Old Katamon and Baka. A 70 sqm three-room works out at about ₪2.93m, a 100 sqm four-room at about ₪4.18m. The 2026 figure so far is ₪42,500, up 1.6%, after ₪37,530 in 2023 and ₪42,417 in 2024.

Size changes the price per sqm sharply. Two-room flats average about ₪48,000 per sqm and four-rooms about ₪35,400. Recent deals include a three-room at Horkania 8 (64 sqm, ₪2.73m, July 2026), a three-room at San Martin 15 (54 sqm, ₪2.28m) and a four-room at Rashbag 13 (97 sqm, ₪3.835m). SOHO off-plan units sold for ₪34,900 to ₪37,700 per sqm in mid-2026, for example ₪4.13m for 110 sqm.

Rents are below the city average. A three-room asks about ₪5,700 a month and a four-room about ₪7,600; Madlan's all-sizes averages are ₪7,500 in A–V and ₪5,500 in H–T. The gross yield on a 70 sqm three-room is about 2.3%.

Purchase tax bands are frozen until January 2028. On a ₪2.93m three-room an Israeli buying a sole home pays about ₪42,000, an oleh within seven years of aliyah about ₪4,750, and a non-resident or buyer of an additional home about ₪234,300.

Full price brief for Katamonim: every registered sale, rents and purchase tax →

07

Buying here: what to check before you sign

• Get the building's renewal status. Ask for the signature level, plan stage and named developer. A recommendation by the local committee still needs district approval and a permit.
• Do not overpay for potential. Small old flats priced for a tower deal can sit for years. Value the flat as it is, and treat renewal as upside.
• Check off-plan guarantees. Many recent deals are off-plan with delivery from 2027 to 2032. Confirm the bank guarantee, the timetable and the penalty for late delivery.
• Measure the flat. Many units are 34 to 50 sqm and some have unregistered extensions. Check the registered area against what is built.
• Look at the exact street. Katamon A–V and H–T differ sharply in income and upkeep, and conditions can change from one block to the next.
• Plan for the Purple Line works. Yehuda HaNasi and Ben Zakai will carry light-rail works until about 2031. Factor traffic, noise and parking into price and rent.
• Ask about parking and shelter. Older blocks rarely have parking or safe rooms. Find the nearest public shelter before you commit.

08

Who it suits

09

The verdict