They live and breathe the real estate market in Eilat. They know every potential residential apartment in the city for residential and investment needs and manage one of the leading brokerage offices in Israel’s tourism capital. We came all the way to Eilat to introduce you to Yossi and Idan Kornfeld, father and son, Eilat city realtors on behalf of the magazine The block within the Israel 2024 city brokers project.
“The real estate history of the city,” explains Yossi Kornfeld, an Eilat real estate broker with over 35 years of experience, “proves that Eilat has always been an attractive area of operation for real estate investments. It started in the late 1980s with real estate investments in vacation apartments following the wave of tourism from Europe and continues to this day. Throughout all the years I have known the real estate industry in the city, Eilat maintains a very high rental level, while during the 1990s the returns For an investment apartment in Eilat, the rates ranged from 10 to 13 percent, which is something crazy. Today they are around 5 percent, which is still double the return of any other residential city in Israel.”
“Over the years,” adds Idan Kornfeld, Yossi’s son and a real estate consultant in the city since 2016, “more and more people have realized that investing in tourist real estate in Eilat is something worthwhile, when the price range now ranges over a wide range that can suit any investor, from -560 thousand shekels for a vacation apartment at the low level and up to 4-5 million shekels at the high level. In fact, from 2020 during the closures of the Corona virus, we are definitely seeing an increase in demand for investment apartments in Eilat from families who wish to have an apartment for investment in the city, which on the one hand will be used as an AIRBNB apartment. They will be able to rent out for the short term and on the other hand they will be used as a family vacation apartment on dates when the family plans a vacation or a vacation in the city.”
As you already understood, Yossi and Idan are father and son, who together manage Kornfeld Properties, one of the leading brokerage offices in the city.
מה הוביל כל אחד מכם לעסוק בענף תיווך הנדל”ן?
יוסי קורנפלד: “לאילת הגעתי בשנת 82. עד אז הייתי בכלל קיבוצניק. קצת אחרי שהתחתנתי, אישתי ואני החלטנו להתגורר בעיר לתקופה של שנה, זאת לפני שנקבל החלטה איפה אנחנו משתקעים ובעצם אותה שנה נמשכת עד היום. בתחילת דרכי באילת, פתחתי עסק עצמאי וניהלתי מתחם בילוי תיירותי שכלל בתוכו מסלולי מיני גולף, מסעדה ובית קפה. לאחר שש שנות עבודה תובעניות, החלטתי שאני רוצה לעשות משהו אחר בהמשך החיים. באותה תקופה, גיסי בדיוק פתח משרד תיווך בעיר. רצה הגורל ומספר ימים לאחר פתיחת המשרד, השותף שנכנס עם גיסי, חטף התקף לב והחליט לוותר על חלקו. למעשה, הגעתי לענף על מנת לעזור לגיסי להפעיל את המשרד, אך התאהבתי במקצוע ומספר חודשים לאחר מכן החלטתי להיכנס עם גיסי כשותף במשרד אותו ניהלנו במשותף במשך 18 שנה. בשנת 2006, פתחתי משרד תיווך עצמאי תחת השם: קורנפלד נכסים”.
עידן קורנפלד: “כבן של מתווך שהחל את הקריירה שלו בתחום לפני יותר משלושה עשורים, זה היה לי ברור שבשלב כזה או אחר אצטרף לעשייה הנדל”נית. בשנת 2016, לאחר קריירה בעולם הביטוח, החלטתי לקחת את המושכות לידיים ומה שנקרא להיכנס לעובי הקורה של ענף תיווך הנדל”ן ובאופן טבעי הצטרפתי למשרד הנושא בגאווה את שם משפחתי”.
What are the main areas of practice and specialization of the office?
Idan: “Although the firm knows how to offer all possible brokerage services in the real estate industry, the main focus of our activity is currently focused on second-hand apartments, commercial real estate, and property management for the investing public. Beyond that, we have built an expanded envelope of professional services. From mortgage consulting services, through home insurance and mortgage insurance to professionals for property maintenance, which means plumbers, repairmen, air conditioners, etc. As of today, we have an inventory of over 50 properties for investors all over the country.
Yossi: “We actually take care of the investors and act as a kind of management company for them. You have to understand that when a foreign resident buys an apartment for investment in Eilat, he can’t skip a second to visit the property if something breaks down or there is wear and tear, and that’s exactly why we’re here for our customers. We know how to provide a comprehensive answer And a wide audience of investors in Eilat, from finding long-term tenants, through financial management of the apartment to the maintenance of the property. In addition, we know how to provide a professional answer to investors in everything related to finding investment properties.”
What about short term rental apartments?
Idan: “In this field, we certainly know how to offer the investing public a diverse supply of apartments and manage the transaction for them with the sellers. We have all the professional knowledge necessary to complete real estate transactions of apartments intended from the outset for short-term rental purposes, starting with where it is allowed and where it is not to operate AIR BNB apartments in Eilat, through locating the right property and initial calculation of the rental costs to referring the investor to experienced and most importantly reliable professionals for the maintenance of the property.”
“Eilat is a diverse investment market for savvy real estate investors”
Idan: “The investment market in Eilat is very diverse for real estate investors who understand interest. The nature of investing in real estate in the city is one of Eilat’s relative advantages, when any real estate investor can purchase properties here with a guaranteed return. There are those who buy for long-term rental and there are those who prefer to do so through investment apartments intended for short-term rental purposes. In both cases, these are attractive real estate investments and brokers who know the city and are connected to its roots, we certainly know how to answer every investor in Eilat’s diverse investment market.”
What about the level of real estate prices in Eilat as of today?
Yossi: “Like any other city in the country, prices in Eilat have also been on the rise since 2008 until today. Naturally, the level of prices in Eilat has risen over the years due to the investment nature of the city. Several decades ago, the increase in prices occurred when the French began to settle in the city, which led For a continuous increase in the housing market. Today, after the removal of the airport from Eilat and the establishment of projects in the terminal complex near the tourist area of the city, a situation has arisen in which the high prices in this area simply pull the entire real estate market in Eilat upwards. In addition, there is a very large shortage of new residential apartments in Eilat, which causes a low supply compared to the demand, which does not contribute to curbing the increase in prices in the city.”
Idan: At the same time, it is important to understand that at any given moment there are quite a few real estate opportunities in Eilat. It is true that there was a constant increase in prices over the years that reached its peak in 2022. In that year, prices really skyrocketed and reached their highest level. Today, more and more people understand that in order to promote sales transactions, they must cut the high prices at which they were hung.”
How did the war and the fact that the city was populated by evacuees affect the real estate sector in Eilat?
Yossi: “Already at the beginning of 2023, after the increase in interest rates in the economy and long before the war that was imposed on us, a slowdown was felt in the Israeli market. If until the beginning of 2023 there were on the shelf at any given moment close to 150 second-hand apartments for sale, then today the volume of apartments has decreased to approx. 50 apartments. It is true that there has been a change in the trend since the beginning of 24 and especially in the last two months. Regarding the evacuees, I definitely think that a certain percentage of them, especially among young couples who were forced to stay in Eilat during the last six months, will decide to settle in our wonderful and safe city, despite the temporary security situation.”
Idan: “At the beginning of the war, many buyers and investors and many property owners simply froze their selling and buying plans. Slowly everyone realizes that the current situation is not going to end soon, therefore those who need to sell an apartment are working to do so and those who want to buy an apartment are doing so even these days.”
New residential projects and the field of urban renewal
Yossi: “As of today, there are approximately 800 new units that are in various stages of planning and construction. The most prestigious project in the city is in the terminal complex that sits on the ground of the airport. In this complex, there are close to 350 housing units. Another large project is located in the in the western part of Eilat in the area known as Shifoli Harer. In this area, part of the supply includes plots for self-construction and part of it includes projects for the price of the resident. In addition, there are smaller projects in district 2 above the Palm Beach and in the western part of the city, where plots for self-construction can be found Also in District 6 of Eilat.”
Idan: “As far as the field of urban renewal is concerned, in Eilat there are more projects of the TMA 38/1 type for thickening and strengthening buildings against earthquakes than there are projects in the field of building evacuation. In my estimation, in the coming years we will see more and more projects of the Pinoy Binui type and TMA 38, and this as a real estate need for the renewal of old areas in the city.”
In conclusion, what is it like to work as father and son in such a demanding field?
Idan: “Each of us brings my own advantages and strengths. I trust the marketing and advertising side, when some of the things I introduced to the office is the subject of digitization, which also includes digital tours through which apartments and properties can be marketed to investors outside the city without having to come to the city to see the property. My father brings with him the experience and reputation that goes before him, when he is the one who accompanies the agents who work with us and they only have something to learn from his experience and his sales methods.”
Yossi: “I’ll make it easier for you. The moment my son came to work with me and I saw the added value he brings to the business, I decided that I would slowly and safely begin to let go of the entire issue of business management and hand it over to him. I am admittedly constantly in BACK UP And I take on the whole issue of the logistical management of the business, but this is only to allow him to do a net job and to allow him to do things in the best way, as he learned from me and as he knows on his own.”
For details and contact:
Idan: 053-353-6397
to the company website >>>
Facebook:>>>
YouTube: >>>
Instagram:>>>
WhatsApp >>>
Twitter >>>
