High-rise developers target young professionals<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
New apartments and condominiums continue to flood the market
\ndespite the generally low occupancy rates. How do developers try
\nand reach their target market of young professionals, singles and
\nmarried couples? The following is the final in a series of
\narticles on apartments and condominiums in the capital.<\/p>\n
As a newly married couple who used to live in a rented room near
\nthe University of Indonesia campus in Depok, West Java, Cecep,
\n27, and Putri, 26, believed living in a downtown apartment would
\nbe financially impossible for them.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, we would have been very grateful to have our own
\napartment in the center of the city. But we thought it was beyond
\nour means. What we imagined was that we would buy a house in the
\nsuburbs, such as Tangerang, Depok or Bekasi,\" Cecep said.<\/p>\n
Cecep, who has worked for the last four years as a corporate
\nlawyer at a foreign company on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, now
\nearns about Rp 6 million a month.<\/p>\n
Putri makes Rp 4 million a month in the accounting department
\nat a private bank on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Although the two still felt attached to their Depok
\nneighborhood, the distance they had to travel to work was a major
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
\"I always wanted to live near my office because it was quite a
\nstruggle to get to work every day with the traffic from Depok to
\nJl. Gatot Subroto. But renting a house downtown would have cost a
\nlot. And I did not think a couple like us could afford to buy an
\napartment in Setiabudi, Kuningan or the Gatot Subroto area,\"
\nPutri said.<\/p>\n
Thousands of young professionals like Cecep and Putri who earn
\nmore than Rp 5 million a month still think it is beyond their
\nreach to have a decent apartment downtown, close to their office.
\nInstead, they plan to buy a house in one of the complexes in
\nTangerang, Bekasi, Depok or Bogor, which can mean over an hour
\ncommute to downtown Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Now these young professionals are the target market for
\napartment developers, who are now offering affordable prices and
\nconvenient installment plans to help these people afford an
\napartment.<\/p>\n
PT Bakrie Swasakti Utama, the developer of the Taman Rasuna
\nApartments, recently unveiled its new tower called the 18th Taman
\nRasuna Residence, which is aimed at young professionals with
\nsalaries of about Rp 5 million per month.<\/p>\n
\"I think singles or professional couples with salaries of
\nabout Rp 5 million can buy an apartment on installment. They just
\nhave to pay 20 percent to 30 percent as a down payment to secure
\na unit,\" said PT Bakrie vice president Ferry Supanji.<\/p>\n
Those in the market can buy an apartment through the primary
\nmarket or the secondary market.<\/p>\n
Lower end apartment cost between Rp 250 million and Rp 400
\nmillion, and applicants have to provide Rp 50 million to Rp 100
\nmillion as a down payment. They can then pay the balance over 10
\nyears to 15 years with the current annual interest rate of 12
\npercent to 13 percent.<\/p>\n
That is about the same as the cost of buying an average-sized
\nhouse in Bumi Serpong Damai in Tangerang, Bintaro in South
\nJakarta, or Pesona Kahyangan in Depok.<\/p>\n
\"The procedure is really not difficult. Usually, we have them
\ndeal with a bank as long as they can provide us with all the
\nnecessary papers, such as family card, identity card and salary
\nslip,\" Ferry said.<\/p>\n
He said the financing was usually done through the same banks
\ninvolved in financing the development of the apartment towers.<\/p>\n
Get an apartment the easy way<\/p>\n
1. Visit several developers' marketing offices to compare prices,
\nlocations, buildings and credit schemes of different apartments.<\/p>\n
2. Most apartment developers hold an exhibition if they are about
\nto launch a new project. Try to visit these exhibitions as
\ndevelopers usually invite banks to attend so customers can
\ndiscuss the credit schemes on the spot.<\/p>\n
3. Make a purchase order with a developer.<\/p>\n
4. Discuss with banks the financing schemes they offer. Banks can
\nusually provide a rough picture of whether they can provide
\ncredit and give some details on their credit schemes.<\/p>\n
5. Prepare your identity card, family card, salary slip and bank
\nstatement, as well as marriage certificate if you are married.
\nGive these papers to the developer and let them deal with the
\nbank.<\/p>\n
6. Wait for credit approval from the bank. The bank will notify
\nthe developer and the customer if they have approved a credit
\nscheme.<\/p>\n
7. Sign a contract with the bank and developer. Usually,
\ncustomers will have to wait about two years before the apartment
\ntower is complete.<\/p>",
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