FOR FOCUS ISSUE -- Real Estate<\/p>\n
Property market shows signs of life amid fall in interest rate<\/p>\n
Sudibyo M. Wiradji
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Residential property has shown signs of life during the past
\nfew months amid a decline in lending rates offered by the
\ncountry's banks.<\/p>\n
Property developers estimate that the more favorable business
\nclimate will provide a turning point for the Indonesian property
\nsector, which almost ground to a halt after the financial crisis
\nhit the country in late 1997.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Association of
\nIndonesian Real Estate Developers (REI) Alwi Bakir Mulachela said
\nthat a number of major property developers had commenced
\nconstruction on new housing projects to meet the surge in demand.<\/p>\n
\"The fall in interest rates has resulted in an increase in
\ndemand for new houses,\" he told The Jakarta Post in an interview
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
According to Alwi, most developers are now focused on the
\nconstruction of moderate houses priced below Rp 200 million and
\nluxury houses carrying a price tag of more than Rp 1 billion.<\/p>\n
Such housing projects are mostly located in Jati Waringin,
\nEast Bekasi; Gandul, South Jakarta, and several others in Bekasi.
\nMore expensive and luxury housing estates also under construction
\nare mostly located in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Construction of houses priced at Rp 200 million to Rp 1
\nbillion had yet to start, as the demand for such properties
\nremained low, he added. \"Developers of houses in this category
\nare still waiting for buyers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Property developers are upbeat that the low interest rates
\nwill be sustainable, given stable improvements in the country's
\neconomic fundamentals, as indicated by the low inflation rate and
\nstrong rupiah.<\/p>\n
\"If low interest rates can remain the property market will
\nhave a chance to return to its peak level achieved before the
\ncrisis,\" said Bumi Serpong Damai's (BSD) marketing and promotion
\nmanager Dhony Raharjoe.<\/p>\n
Gading Mediterranean Ville (GMV) in Kelapa Gading, North
\nJakarta, Taman Giri Loka (TGL) and View of Europe (VoE), both in
\nBSD, Tangerang, and the Kemang Real Estates, South Jakarta, -- to
\nname but a few -- are among planned housing estates that are
\nunder construction.<\/p>\n
PT Agung Podomoro Group, developer of GMV, started to market
\nits planned 79 exclusive and luxury three-story houses in April
\nof this year.<\/p>\n
\"About 80 percent of them have been sold,\" said a marketing
\nstaffer at PT Agung Podomoro.<\/p>\n
The GMV project is designed for high-income people. Houses in
\nthis estate sell at Rp 735 million to Rp 2 billion.<\/p>\n
Construction of GMV, an expansion of Bukit Gading
\nMediterranean (BGM), is expected to start in August of this year
\nand to be completed in June next year, said BGM's marketing
\nmanager Ho-Mely Suryani.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, BSD said it planned to construct several other
\nluxury housing estates following the success of previous
\nprojects, Fontainebleu Golf Residence and Taman Provence?.<\/p>\n
The company's two projects -- TGL, which will have 70 houses,
\nand VoE, which will have 300 -- were sold out several months
\nbefore construction started. \"The other project, Taman Chrysant
\n(TC), which will have 100 houses, is also under way, but the
\nmarketing still continues,\" said Dhony of BSD.<\/p>\n
TGL will be built in neoclassical style, incorporating
\nreplicas of long and simply decorated columns, while VoE will be
\nbuilt in classical style. \"We strive to meet customers' tastes
\nand requirements. Classical and neoclassical styles are now
\npopular in luxury housing estates,\" he said.<\/p>\n
With middle- and upper-income groups as the target market, the
\nprice range of housing estates at BSD is from Rp 96 million per
\nunit to over Rp 500 million.<\/p>\n
The TGL and VoE projects will be constructed this year and are
\nexpected to be completed next year.<\/p>\n
TC will be built in a cluster, with an exclusive entrance gate
\nto ensure security, he said. \"TC is in close proximity to Granada
\nSquare shopping center,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dhony said that occupants of housing estates at BSD would have
\nexcellent facilities, with the planned construction of BSD Market
\nPlace, a modern and clean market with integrated trade complex.<\/p>\n
As with PT Agung Podomoro Group and BSD, PT Umawar Isasa Bluza
\nwill also undertake a luxury housing estate project to take
\nadvantage of the rise in demand.<\/p>\n
The developer plans to build an exclusive and luxury housing
\ncomplex for expatriates in Kemang, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The residential housing complex, with a planned 130 units
\noffered for rent, has started to be marketed. \"We have received
\nan enthusiastic response from the market,\" said company owner
\nAlwi Bakir Mulachela.<\/p>\n
Facilities planned include a swimming pool, fitness center and
\nchildren's playground. He said that expatriates working in
\nJakarta continued to represent a market with potential for rented
\nhousing.<\/p>\n
The complex, on some seven hectares of land, will commence
\nconstruction in December this year and is expected to be
\ncompleted in mid-2005.<\/p>\n
Alwi expressed confidence that the complex would attract
\nexpatriates in Jakarta, saying that with improved security and
\norder in Indonesia, more expatriates were expected to live in the
\ncountry.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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