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JERUSALEM — With a succession of marinas opening along the 112-mile Israeli coastline, developers' plans to sell homes by the sea are finally coming to fruition.

The high-end market of vacation apartments is witnessing steady business despite the country-wide economic slowdown.

From Ashkelon and Ashdod, to Herzliya, Haifa and Hadera, high-rises, villages and villas are being built and sold to those with some extra cash to burn.

"It's super-accepted worldwide," said Nati Gilboa, vice president of the real-estate development company Mivnei Gazit. "You build marinas and people live there."

In Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, Gazit and the Ofer Brothers group developed Marina Village, the first of five projects for the exclusive marina, which will eventually have 1,200 apartments in a combination of residential developments.

With 120 units, Marina Village features garden apartments and second-floor flats that face the marina, the sea or the inner courtyard.

The apartments are small, but well-suited for a single person or a couple without children. There is 24-hour security, laundry, cleaning and gardening services for an extra fee, an outdoor pool and gym facilities, as well as a Jacuzzi.

Out on the marina are three restaurants, a spa and a water-sports store.

"People from Herzliya Pituah bought here," said Gilboa, referring to the exclusive nearby neighborhood that is home to several embassies, as well as the U.S. ambassador's residence. "They want it for weekends and for holidays."

The prices range from $240,000 for a garden apartment facing the inner courtyard to $320,000 for dwellings located along the marina boardwalk. Docking fees for boats and yachts range from $2,000 to $3,000 a year.

Given the current real-estate slowdown, prices have dropped to about $220,000 for the last 20 apartments that are still available, according to Gilboa.

But not all potential buyers wanted to be a "pioneer," particularly given some legal complications.

The land for Marina Village was first purchased in 1995 from the government, but within a year the developers were entangled in a civil lawsuit with several environmental groups crusading to preserve the coastline.

By the end of 1999, the Tel Aviv District Court ruled that even though apartments were already built and sold, any dwelling located close to the marina shoreline is public property and must be considered a hotel-style rental apartment.

As a result, marina apartment owners who purchased their homes after the lawsuit cutoff date have to lease their flats for rental to the general public for part of the year.

It's not a problem for most of the Marina Village owners, who bought before the lawsuit, but it is an issue at other projects in the Herzliya marina as well as at other marinas up and down the coast.