Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem. ימין משה

01

Where it is

Yemin Moshe sits on the slope west of the Hinnom Valley, facing Mount Zion and the Old City walls. Mishkenot Sha'ananim and the 1857 Montefiore windmill sit at its edge, the Hutzot Hayotzer artists' colony is next door, and Confederation House is behind the King David Hotel.

Mamilla and David's Village lie just to the north. Our price brief pools the three, because Yemin Moshe itself trades so rarely, and the new luxury supply is almost all in those blocks rather than in the old lanes.

There is no road through the enclave. Access is on foot, by stairs and paths, with buses on King David Street and Hebron Road. The Red Line's City Hall stop is within walking distance through Mamilla.

02

From frontline to postcard

Moses Montefiore bought the land in 1855 with money from Judah Touro's estate. Mishkenot Sha'ananim, the first Jewish housing outside the Old City walls, was finished by 1860, and the windmill was meant to make residents self-sufficient. Yemin Moshe itself was built in 1892–94 by the Montefiore Welfare Fund to relieve overcrowding inside the walls, and by the 1920s about 900 people lived there.

1948 broke it. The neighbourhood was besieged, most residents fled after a heavy attack in February 1948, and the armistice left it on the edge of divided Jerusalem, with the border in the Hinnom Valley below. The state housed new immigrants there, mostly from Turkey, and snipers on the Old City walls fired on the streets.

After 1967 the area was restored. From 1968 the Jerusalem Development Company cleared the original low-income residents, and most of those who had lived through the 19 years of division were relocated. The houses were renovated and sold as an upscale enclave for artists and wealthy buyers, which is what it remains.

03

What it is actually like today

Yemin Moshe is very quiet, very pretty and very steep. The lanes are stone, the gardens are cared for and the view of the walls is the best in the city. It is also largely pedestrian, so every bag of shopping, buggy, delivery and piece of furniture goes up and down stairs.

Many owners are overseas Jews from the US, UK and France, and many homes are empty much of the year. Off-season, our brief describes the enclave as mostly deserted. That brings calm, but also thin year-round community life and few local shops or services.

There are few family services inside the enclave. Families typically use schools in Talbiyeh, Rehavia and the German Colony. Older residents should think hard about the stairs before buying, however good the view.

04

Renewal: preservation, not change

There is no renewal story in the old lanes. Strict preservation rules protect the facades, and extensions, roof additions, windows and materials all need conservation approval. Permits are slower and more expensive than elsewhere, and some changes will not be allowed at all.

New supply comes from the edges. The David's Village and Mamilla luxury blocks, such as Legacy, which was largely sold by November 2024, are where buyers find lifts, parking and modern layouts near the view. They are priced accordingly: a 177 sqm flat in the Midtown tower registered at ₪20.24m, or ₪114,350/sqm, in September 2025.

Empty homes are a policy issue. Jerusalem introduced double arnona on empty 'ghost' flats in 2016, and the Yemin Moshe brief says empty homes are charged double. Globes reported in February 2025 that the permit for the double rate had expired. If you plan to leave a home empty, confirm the current rate with the municipality.

05

Who lives here

Owners are a mix of overseas buyers, wealthy Israelis and some long-standing artists and retirees. Foreign money is central to the market: Globes reported that foreign residents were buying about 100 Jerusalem apartments a month, about two thirds of all foreign-resident purchases in Israel, and the municipality says empty flats are concentrated in the city centre and historic areas.

Anglo agencies dominate listings, and many David's Village rentals are priced in dollars. But year-round English-speaking community life is thinner here than in Baka, the German Colony or Katamon. If you want shuls, schools and neighbours on your street through the year, look there and visit Yemin Moshe.

06

Prices and what you get

Our figure is indicative: ₪51,466/sqm on nine registered sales across Yemin Moshe, David's Village and Mamilla in 2025–26. That puts a notional 70 sqm three-room at about ₪3.60m and a 100 sqm four-room at about ₪5.15m. The range is huge, from ₪32,060 to ₪114,350/sqm, and earlier years come from different bases, so there is no reliable yearly trend.

The deals show the spread. A six-room, 249 sqm home at Tura 15 in Yemin Moshe registered at ₪12.5m in June 2025, about ₪50,197/sqm. In David's Village a four-room of 250 sqm sold for ₪18.17m and a one-room of 47 sqm for ₪1.93m. On Jaffa Road 1 a 76 sqm three-room went for ₪5.28m. On the asking side, a 290 sqm private house on Tura was listed at ₪15.5m. Several registered deals may be developer first sales at a new-build premium.

Rents are high because the stock is furnished, seasonal and often priced in dollars. A three-room asks about ₪12,500, with listings from roughly ₪11,500 to ₪16,500; a two-room about ₪7,500; a four-room in Mamilla ₪24,000 or more. That gives a gross yield of about 4.2% on paper, but the sample is thin and seasonal letting brings voids. Budget about ₪64,750 to move into a three-room rental.

Purchase tax: on a ₪3.60m three-room an oleh pays about ₪8,119, a resident buying a sole home about ₪75,669, and a non-resident or additional-home buyer about ₪288,210. On a ₪5.15m four-room the figures are ₪15,839, ₪152,868 and ₪411,728. Bands are frozen to 15 January 2028.

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

07

Buying here: what to check before you sign

• Get the conservation rules in writing. Before you buy, find out exactly what the preservation rules allow on that house: windows, roof, extension, materials. Assume approvals take time and cost money.
• Check what was built with a permit. In an old, much-altered enclave, compare the house with the approved plans. Unpermitted additions are a problem at resale and with the bank.
• Carry everything up the stairs. Walk the route from the nearest road with shopping, a case or a buggy. Think about how you will manage in 20 years.
• Ask about the empty-home tax. If the home will stand empty for much of the year, confirm the current arnona position with the municipality.
• Treat the median with caution. Nine deals across three different areas is not a market price. Value the house on its own size, view, condition and permits.
• Test the rental story. High rents are seasonal and furnished. Ask an agent for real occupancy, not the peak monthly rate.
• Visit off-season. Walk the lanes on a weekday in winter. If you live here year-round, that is your street.

08

Who it suits

09

The verdict