Finding an apartment in Tel Aviv is a complex process, and often a long one. Many searchers use property websites and social media, but some buyers want a home in a specific area or compound, or apartments with particular features, including garden apartments, penthouses, or distinctive homes in preserved buildings. ProperTLV is a Tel Aviv boutique real-estate agency that specialises in exactly that, offering a personal search and service. The agency presents apartments for sale and rent, matched to each client’s preferences and budget. ProperTLV, owned and led by Tova Dekkers, an experienced and energetic agent, is run by a dedicated women-led team that also includes three experienced agents and a professional marketing manager.
“I founded the agency 17 years ago to help Israelis, overseas residents, and foreigners find the Tel Aviv apartment they had always dreamed of, with professional, personal guidance. I know how to tailor the right apartment and the right deal for each client,” Dekkers says. “I grew up with a father who worked in real estate, studied business administration, travelled the world, and lived for periods in New York and Japan. When I returned to Israel I decided I wanted to work in real estate and also with people from around the world. At the beginning I helped friends from abroad find apartments in Tel Aviv, and later I founded the agency. That is also how I met my Dutch husband, while searching for an apartment for him.”
Personal service in four languages
ProperTLV offers quality properties in Tel Aviv, specialising in clients with specific preferences for location and character, and in supporting overseas residents, new immigrants, and diplomats alongside Israeli clients. “We provide professional, personal service and speak Hebrew, English, Russian, and Dutch. Many of our clients are overseas residents and new immigrants, mainly from European countries, Russia, Canada, the United States, Australia, and South Africa, who want an apartment in Tel Aviv, as well as senior professionals arriving from abroad such as engineers and diplomats. We also work with many Israelis, including long-standing clients and people who come through friends’ recommendations,” Dekkers explains. “These days there is growing interest in buying apartments in the city from Jews in the diaspora, who want to take advantage of relative price stability and later benefit from the expected rise after the war. Another factor in their increased interest now is the wave of antisemitism Jews are facing in many countries.”
ProperTLV offers high-quality apartments of different sizes in Tel Aviv’s leading demand areas. “We offer personally matched properties in Tel Aviv, including in sought-after areas of Jaffa, Neve Tzedek, Florentin, the city centre, and the Old North. At clients’ request we also locate properties in neighbourhoods across the Yarkon, Ramat Aviv, and Herzliya,” Dekkers says. “Our properties have different architectural character, sizes, and locations, but all are of very high quality. In Jaffa, for example, we offer beautiful apartments in compounds such as Andromeda, Noga, and the flea market. In the heart of the city we offer new apartments alongside distinctive homes in preserved buildings, including around Rothschild Boulevard and Sheinkin. Given our location in the Old North, which is a significant part of my life, we also have excellent apartments in this area, including garden apartments, penthouses, and more compact homes.”
From finding the property to designing the home
Clients searching for an apartment in Tel Aviv who contact the agency receive personal attention and dedicated professional service from the first moment, matched to their preferences and budget. “After clients contact us, we hold an initial conversation in which they define what matters to them, the character and location they want, and their budget,” Dekkers says. “We then run a careful search and send them proposals for apartments that fit those requests. These stages can also take place remotely when the client lives abroad. Of course, if the client lives or is staying in Israel, they are also welcome at our office. Once clients show interest in specific properties, we arrange viewings and accompany them personally until the right home is found.”
The same professional, dedicated service is also for apartment owners who work with ProperTLV. “We handle sale properties for many owners, some of them long-standing clients whose rentals we managed over the years. After owners approach us, we set a meeting and visit the apartment to see it and photograph it. We clarify their goals and estimate the property’s market value,” Dekkers explains. “After owners sign exclusive representation and marketing, we prepare a measured plan of the apartment, including exact size and room layout. That plan, together with expectation-setting and the valuation, helps determine how the apartment will be marketed, to the owners’ satisfaction.”
ProperTLV also offers interior-design advice and support. “We offer buyers interior-design service through collaboration with talented designers, at a reasonable cost. That lets us keep accompanying clients in choosing furniture and designing the apartment, helping them or going to furniture stores on their behalf,” Dekkers explains. “We help them design and furnish the apartment according to the style and budget they defined, saving them time and hassle.”
Quality apartments for rent
The agency also offers a varied selection of rental apartments for Israelis, overseas residents staying in Tel Aviv for periods of time, and embassy and foreign-company staff. “We offer quality rental apartments, from compact, well-kept homes to houses suited to families with children. These are market-rate rentals, personally matched to tenants’ preferences and means, in sought-after, attractive locations,” Dekkers adds.
ProperTLV offers professional, caring, personal service and accompanies clients all the way to finding the right property. “We are a distinctive boutique agency and we do not try to look like everyone else. We give personal service from the heart. We work together as a team, in harmony and thoroughly,” Dekkers says. “We are very glad to make clients’ dreams real and find them the right home. The greatest satisfaction for me is seeing an excited, happy client for whom we found the right apartment.”