Building in Shiloh as Land Rises in Value

Shiloh has reached the exalted stage in real estate values when people are willing and hoping to buy an old house and tear it down before building their dream home.

I consider this an extremely important benchmark in our development as a community. There was a time when people came to Shiloh just for ideological reasons, and in terms of financial reasons, just because it was relatively inexpensive. Land for those of us who have been here from the beginning or close to it, was free. We just paid for the expense of our homes, whether built or purchased very cheaply.

But now, Shiloh as real estate value, the community, education, location and other necessary facilities are such that the land itself has value.

The house that was knocked down was built by the housing ministry and sold pretty cheaply about twenty-five years ago. A family lived there, and then it was rented out. Many people have added to those homes and are very happy living in them, but the new family has planned a large home with one or two rental apartments. As you can see, the area is flat, so access is easy. It is also a very desirable neighborhood, just down the way and around the corner from me. There are many "youngish" families with children in school. The parents are approaching middle-age. Yes, they are about the ages of my children.

There are a few synagogues in the neighborhood, a clinic and public transportation. There are also a lot of English speakers.

The neighborhood also has a few terraced apartment buildings, which are also populated by young families, who have bought their apartments. They were built by private contractors. The only "public housing" built here in Shiloh were that area built up twenty-five years ago and the first prefabricated homes which Ariel Sharon had brought here just over thirty-five years ago. They are still being lived in, and here in the photograph below you can see that they, too, have real estate value (though less) and are being expanded.

There are a lot of housing options in Shiloh besides purchasing homes. We have a large caravan (mobile home) neighborhood, and there are other rental options. I think there are close to four hundred families living here now. And there are many more in neighboring Shvut Rachel and the various small "hilltop"communities to the east and west of us.