Ofakim property prices 2026 אופקים

Summary

Ofakim in six numbers

01 The area

What Ofakim is

Ofakim is a 1950s development town about 20 km west of Beersheba, with a CBS population of about 39,900 (2024), up from 30,662 in 2019. A 2017 housing agreement for 14,436 units is driving rapid growth in new neighbourhoods. The town was attacked by Hamas on 7 October 2023, when dozens of residents were killed.

Nadlan Center counted 488 home purchases in the first half of 2024 against 395 in the first half of 2023, up about 23.5%; no reliable figure for the latest 12 months was found.

Boundaries and parts

Getting around

Ofakim station, opened in 2015 on the Ashkelon–Beersheba line, has trains to Beersheba and to Ashkelon and Tel Aviv. The town is about 20 km west of Beersheba via Highway 25 and Route 241, with Highway 264 linking to Highway 6.

Schools, parks and families

Madlan lists state primaries including David Ben Gurion and Regavim, state-religious Chabad, a large Haredi school network, and high schools including Amal Amirim and the state-religious Shvilei Eitam.

English speakers

Small. Nefesh B'Nefesh publishes a community profile for Ofakim, but no figures on its Anglo community were found.

02 Registered sold prices

What people actually paid

Area rate ₪13,287 per sqm. Median price ₪1,195,000.

03 Asking prices and new build

What is for sale, and what is being built

• 4 rooms, 93 sqm, 3rd floor, Pri Migdanim 80, Mishor HaGefen — ₪1,000,000 (₪10,753/sqm)
• 4 rooms, 99 sqm, 3rd floor, Oren 27, Mishor HaGefen — ₪985,000 (₪9,949/sqm)
• 5 rooms, 126 sqm, 4th floor, Nahal Zayit 54, Afikei HaNahal — ₪1,790,000 (₪14,206/sqm)
• 6 rooms, 138 sqm, 4th floor, Orim, Shchunat HaPark — ₪1,690,000 (₪12,246/sqm)
• 5-room garden flat, 128 sqm, Rav Ovadia Yosef 17, Ramat HaShaked — ₪2,300,000 (₪17,969/sqm)
• 5-room duplex, 150 sqm, 1st floor, Tzalon 87, Ramat HaShaked — ₪1,850,000 (₪12,333/sqm)

New build and renewal schemes

04 Purchase tax and costs

What buying here actually costs

Lawyer at 0.5% + VAT and broker at 2% + VAT on a resale (VAT 18%). No broker fee when buying from a developer's sales office. Add a mortgage appraisal (₪350–₪950) and Tabu fees of a few hundred shekels.

The oleh relief, in one paragraph

Under Regulation 12A, a new immigrant pays 0% purchase tax up to ₪1,978,745 and 0.5% from there to ₪6,055,070, on one residential property, once, bought from one year before aliyah to seven years after it. The oleh does not have to live in it. Above ₪20,183,565 the relief does not apply. Olim who arrived before 15 August 2024 may choose the older Regulation 12 instead.

05 Renting

Renting in Ofakim

Cash out before the keys

Rent against buying

A 70 sqm three-room at the registered rate costs about ₪930k and rents for about ₪3,950 a month: a gross yield of 5.1% before arnona, vaad bayit, maintenance, void months and tax. MadaDirot puts gross yields at about 5.1%, among the higher figures for the region. The rental market is small, so tenants have little choice and landlords should expect slower re-letting.

06 Urban renewal and stock

The buildings, and what is happening to them

Growth is through new neighbourhoods rather than renewal: Afikei HaNahal (about 7,500 units planned by 2040), Shchunat HaPark, Horshat Noach and Ramat HaShaked, under the 2017 housing agreement for 14,436 units. A new affordable-housing neighbourhood is being built next to the station. No pinui-binui schemes were found in the sources.

07 Things to beware of

Things to beware of

Specific to Ofakim

Gaza-border security

Hamas gunmen attacked the town on 7 October 2023, beginning in Mishor HaGefen, and it lies in the Gaza-border region of the western Negev.

Large new supply

Thousands of new units in Afikei HaNahal and other neighbourhoods may hold back resale prices of older flats.

Split market

Older flats in HaArazim and Yaakov Masika register at about ₪750,000–₪800,000, while new houses reach ₪2.9m–₪3.1m, so city averages can mislead.

Unreliable 12-month data

MadaDirot shows only 166 sales in the latest 12 months, which looks like a reporting gap; check the nadlan.gov.il register directly.

Old stock without safe rooms

Older walk-up blocks often lack a mamad, which matters near Gaza.

When buying anywhere in Israel

The register, not the listing

Asking prices are what sellers hope for. Look up what the building and the street actually registered on nadlan.gov.il before you make an offer.

Built area against the permit

Compare the square metres in the listing with the building permit and the Tabu. Enclosed balconies and roof additions are often unpermitted, and a bank values only what is permitted.

Parking and storage "with the apartment"

Check that the parking space and storage room are registered to the flat in the Tabu or the condominium order, not simply in use by the seller.

Mortgage before contract

Get mortgage approval in principle before you sign. The contract fixes payment dates, and missing one is a breach.

Off-plan: guarantees and linkage

Every payment to a developer must be secured, usually by a bank guarantee under the Sale (Apartments) (Assurance of Investments) Law. Since Amendment 9, linkage to the construction-input index is capped at half of the rise; budget for it anyway.

Your own lawyer, a licensed broker

Your lawyer should act for you alone, not for the seller or the developer. Check any broker on the Ministry of Justice licence register before you sign an order form.

When renting anywhere in Israel

Check who owns it

Ask for a Tabu extract and make sure the name on it is the person signing the lease, or that they hold a power of attorney.

The security is capped

Under s.25י of the Rental and Borrowing Law, total security may not exceed the lower of three months' rent or a third of the rent for the whole term.

Who pays the broker

A broker engaged by the landlord is paid by the landlord (s.25ט). You pay only if you engaged the broker yourself.

Repairs and notice

The landlord must repair defects that prevent reasonable use within 30 days, or within three days if urgent. Read the early-termination clause and the notice it requires.

Mamad, lift, parking, air conditioning

Check each one physically and write it into the lease: what the flat has, what works, and who maintains it.

Oleh arnona discount

New olim can claim up to a 90% arnona (municipal tax) discount on up to 100 sqm for 12 months within their first 24 months. Apply to the municipality with your teudat oleh.

FAQ

Ofakim property: common questions

08 Before any offer or lease

Six checks on every apartment in Ofakim

1. Pull the registered sales. Look up every registered sale in the building and on the street for the last twelve months on nadlan.gov.il, and compare like with like: floor, size, mamad, parking.
2. Get the Tabu extract and the permit file. Check ownership, mortgages and cautions in the Tabu, and compare the flat with the permit plans in the municipal building file (tik binyan).
3. Mamad, lift, parking, storage. Confirm each is there, works, and is registered to the flat rather than simply in use.
4. Ask about renewal. Find out whether the building is in a pinui-binui or Tama 38 plan, how many owners have signed, and with which developer.
5. Price the running costs. Ask the municipality for the arnona rate on the flat, and the vaad bayit for monthly fees and any planned works.
6. Use the oleh relief, if it is yours. Regulation 12A is used once, on one property, within one year before to seven years after aliyah. Make sure your lawyer files it.