Character and Identity: Ashkelon is the southernmost coastal city of Israel - a beach-and-marina city of 145,000 with deep history (a 4,000-year-old Canaanite port) and a young, fast-growing demographic profile.
National Role: Ashkelon is the regional center for the southern coast, with a national power station, a desalination plant supplying part of central Israel, and the Barzilai Medical Center.
Historical Development: Modern Ashkelon was founded in 1948 next to the Arab town of al-Majdal, absorbed Russian and Ethiopian Aliyah in the 1990s, and expanded west via the Marina, Barnea and Agamim master-planned districts.
Interesting Fact: Ashkelon has Israel's largest national park entirely within an urban boundary, fenced around the ruins of the ancient Roman-era Canaanite port city.
Annual price growth: 2.0% · Forecast: moderate · stable
Area: Southern Israel · city · Investment category: budget · Population: 145,000 · 54,000 apartments · 1,500 new units/year