Proximity to Nature Reserves 

The "Hashmura neighborhood is named after the nature reserve that is close to it, the Nature Reserve of "Ramat Hanadiv" that extends on a territory of 4,500 dunams and is located south of Zichron Yaacov going in the direction of "The Carmel Nose", the most southern point of the Carmel ridge. Out of this reserve, seventy dunams are gardens that are planted around the graves of Baron Edmond (Benjamin) De Rothschild and his wife, the Baroness Adelaide (Ada)  De Rothschild. The gardens which were planted to commemorate the Baron are operated by a special fund which continues to maintain, cultivate and develop them. Just recently we have been advised about the beginning of work for the construction of a new visitors' center in the park. The Ramat Hanadiv Nature Reserve is protected by a law that was especially legislated for it, as part of the conditions that were put in place for the protection of the Rothschild family. The unique possibility to live in immediate proximity of a nature reserve is one of the reasons for its attractiveness. The splendid view in its direction and in the direction of the sea, the possibility to go on a walk into the reserve just straight from the houses line, and the quality of the air that is influenced by the proximity to the green lung, are wonderful advantages of the Hashmura neighborhood. The environmental development in the neighborhood is very good: all the infrastructures (electricity, telephone, cables etc.) are installed underground. The neighborhood has a clean and ordered aspect. There is uniformity in the appearance of the houses and the street furniture (the lightning pillars, the benches, the fences, etc.). 

About its Construction 

Originally the Hashmura neighborhood was a big area of land, purchased by a promoter that even before the beginning of the construction of the neighborhood have been involved in national (like Dizenghof Center) and international projects. The land is private and registered in the Taboo. At some point Itzhak Tshuva associated himself with the real-estate promoter for the construction of the Hashmura neighborhood, and the construction itself was executed by the Solel Bone Company. 400 cottages were built in the neighborhood. Several dozens of plots were sold to individuals and today there are few plots left on which there are no built houses, mainly plots that were purchased as an investment and their owners reside overseas. The neighborhood is divided in two parts by a stream. The entrance to the central part of the neighborhood is from the direction of the commercial center, and to the other part, (Wingate Street, Alexander Zeid Street etc.) the entrance is from the direction of Hagideonim Street, in the Neve Habaron neighborhood. This part of the neighborhood is adjacent to Neve Habaron neighborhood, and many people consider it as being part of Neve Habaron. Considering the type, size and price of the houses and the plots, there is no difference between the two main parts of the neighborhood. 

The character of the houses 

The Hashmura neighborhood is very homogenous. All of it (except the "Hapnina" - pearl - building and the commercial center) is two-family cottages, which were built in several models, almost identical in size, on plots of almost the same size. Most of the houses are of 6 rooms (downstairs a living room with an exit to the garden and guests toilets, security room and a kitchen) and 4 bedrooms (common bathroom/toilet + toilets adjacent to the master bedroom) in the upper floor with a small balcony. The plot size is 350-400 m². The houses are built in a left/right or front/rear configuration, with one common wall. All houses have roofs covered with roofing tiles as required by the City's construction plan for the neighborhood. A construction of a basement is allowed, but almost no house has done it. All parking spaces need to be inside the plot. Some of the houses have covered parking which takes advantage of the natural topography, so that the garden is built on top of the parking roof. 

The names of the streets in the Hashmura neighborhood are names of stones and precious stones: sapphire, ruby, granite, emerald, jewel, etc. Not only the houses are homogenous, the population is also pretty homogenous: a lot of high-tech, navy and army people. Many of them are "new" residents, for which their house in the neighborhood is their first house in Zichron Yaacov. There are few new immigrants and some returning residents. 

The homogeneity in the type of the houses and the size of the plots is reflected in a small range of prices. That is - the cheapest house is not much cheaper from the most expensive one. The prices of the houses in the neighborhood increase "together", as one single unit. The differences in price between one house and the other depend on the following factors: the location of the house in the neighborhood (proximity to the commercial center, but not to close to it) is an advantage that influences the price. A view of the sea, as for example in the western part of the Sapir Street, contributes to the price increase. The state of the house (and it's worth mentioning that many houses which were built by Solel Boneh and were not treated later by the owners, suffered from finishing defects, in particular many residents suffered from humidity problems). The most significant difference is generally between the houses that were built as part of the original project and the privately built houses. The later are considered as more desired and achieve prices that are about 5-15% higher than the houses built by "Solel Boneh". Among the privately built houses, those built in the last couple of years (and therefore include newer accessories and construction products) get better prices. 

In the northern part of the neighborhood (behind the commercial center) is situated another newer segment of the neighborhood, which was entirely privately built. Two years ago, it seemed that that this area gets higher prices (maybe because this sector was not part of a "project") from the "classical" area of the neighborhood south of the commercial center, but in the meantime the prices of the privately built houses have attained the same price as the houses in the northern part of the neighborhood and we can say that the prices are approximately identical. 

Prices 

In the period of construction the houses in the Hashmura neighborhood were sold in prices that were between approximately $260,000 up to $290,000. The houses' prices staid for years at the same level until a year and a half from now and were between $300,000 and $330,000. Since than the demand for the neighborhood increased significantly, almost by surprise, and the prices have got an upside lift. It's almost impossible today to find a house for sale in the neighborhood, for less than $350,000 and the requested prices reach $450,000. As mentioned above, there are very few plots for construction and the price of the land starts at $170,000 for a plot of 350-375 m² for a construction of one residential unit. 

The "Hashmura" commercial center 

In the neighborhood is located a commercial center that includes a Supermarket, shops, offices, a restaurant, coffee shops, a pub, a fitness club, and various services such as laundry, post office, hairdressing saloon, etc. The center, which is one of two centers located in Zichron Yaacov, is very active. The commercial space is sold for about $2,000-$2,500 for m². Therefore a shop of 45 m² is sold for about $100,000. The high prices for a square meter are realized for the smaller shops, at the northern side and the ground floor, adjacent to the parking lot. The double height of the shops at the ground floor enables the addition of a gallery. The gallery space usually does not enter into the calculation of space for deriving the price. At the second floor of the commercial center operates an elderly citizens' home, named "Beit Shaham". Many of the residents there are from the generation of the parents of Zichron Yaacov residents. 

The "Hapnina"building 

There is also an apartment building in the neighborhood, named "Hapnina" (the pearl). The building is part of a plan of four buildings and a country club that was planned for the neighborhood and later on was cancelled. Originally the apartments were defined as vacation apartments, but last year, after long struggles, their status was changed to residential apartments. This, among other things is important for local taxes purpose. Most of the apartments in the building are relatively small (65-75 m²) and are sold for $2,000 the m² and up. The building is in excellent shape, most of the apartments have a balcony, the parking space is abundant, and most of the apartments have fantastic view of the sea. There are usually 2-3 apartments on sale and the prices start at $150,000.  

...and more 

Let's note two additional sites that are worth to be considered. Both sites are in construction now, and still have houses for sale. One is the "Amir Mayan Tzvi"site, which is adjacent to the Kibbutz Mayan Tzvi, and where houses of 160 m² that are defined as single family houses on plots of 330 m² are sold for $360,000 and up. The second is the "Merom Hashmura" site, planned by the local architect, Yossi Tal, with houses from 130 m² and up on plots of approximately 320 m², which are sold for $275,000 and more. The price of a spacious house in this area of "Merom Hashmura" may reach $450,000.