Apartment living catching on slowly

Apartment living catching on slowly

Rudijanto, Contributor, Jakarta

Living in apartment is still a luxury for most people but for
a young and dynamic executive such as Elina Ciptadi who is
expected to come to the office early and return home late, an
apartment is the only solution.

Aside from enabling her to go quickly to and from the office,
her rented lodgings are near including shopping mall, restaurants
and cafe.

Elina says she feels safe in her apartment and does not worry
about leaving it for several days because of the good security
system provided by the management. She would be worried if she
left a normal house empty for several days, she said.

"I don't need to open the gate by myself if I come home late
in the middle of night."

Elina is a young executive who feels perfectly at home living
in a Jakarta apartment rather than choosing to buy a two-story
house in Tangerang or somewhere the outskirts of Jakarta where
she can afford.

While apartment living offers more conveniences, not all
Indonesians can either afford or want to live in high rise
accommodation.

"No, I can't imagine living in a tall concrete block
surrounded by other tall buildings. I want a house where I can
still can see green trees and hear bird song in the morning,"
says Andi Priyantoko, a writer for a Jakarta-based magazine.

Another young executive, Dewi Suryani, who works in Jakarta's
central business district, admits that if given a choice she
would rather live in a house. She currently lives with her
parents in an apartment close to Jakarta's Taman Anggrek Mall.

"An apartment offers convenience. For instance, if I want to
eat, I just go to the food court in the mall. But I don't have
much privacy in the apartment because the size of our unit is
very small. If somebody yells from one corner, I can hear it from
the other," Dewi says.

Colliers International research manager Ferry Salanto confirms
that most Indonesians still prefer to live on the ground in
houses rather than in apartments. However, the main problem
developers face is not getting people to live in apartments but
convincing them to buy them, particularly as an investment, he
says.

"With a surplus in supply on the market and the fact that most
Indonesians typically prefer to live in houses, developers often
find it difficult to sell apartments if they are targeting an
end-user."

Selling apartments these days usually meant offering them as
an investment alternative, he says.

"Buying an apartment is a long-term investment. And it's
important to note that compared to houses, apartments give a
better return," he said.

However, he says living in apartments has also gradually
become an acceptable lifestyle option, and this is also a selling
point. Many people preferred apartments because of their
proximity to downtown areas, integrated support facilities and
well-managed security systems.

"Given limited land in the city that results in escalating
land prices, high-rise development is the solution." The
situation in Jakarta could end up being very much like the one in
Singapore, Ferry said.

Property consultant Panangian Simanungkalit agrees.

"The desire to live in apartments has increased among city
dwellers who want to escape the heavy traffic and to enjoy a
secure, comfortable life with guaranteed privacy," said Panangian
as quoted by Sinar Harapan.

PT Procon Indah marketing officer Gita Maharani Koroh
says developers often conduct promotions to encourage people to
choose an apartment instead of houses.

However, living in an apartment does require changes in one's
way of life, Gita says. Although there is normally a community
center in every apartment, the day-to-day interaction is not as
much as in housing complexes.

"After living in an apartment for some time, what I miss the
most is eating satay, porridge or noodles, or buying drinking ice
or vegetables, all from the street vendors that used to pass by
my old house," says Elina.

Many Indonesians also shy away from purchasing apartments
because they worry about the risks.

"If I own a house and it collapses because of a strong
earthquake at least the land is still mine. But If I have an
apartment unit that collapses, can I still own the land?" Andi
wondered.

However, as traffic becomes increasingly unbearable and new
areas for housing development become farther away from offices
and other workplaces, many Indonesians are preparing to change.

But for many others the high price of apartments makes it
impossible for them to even contemplate it.

Ferry advised people who were thinking about buying apartments
to check the apartment's documents, including the Right to Build
Title, Land Certificate and the Right to Use A Building
certificate, and to be aware of who the financing bank was.

People should know what they were getting into, he said. "We
must avoid developers who use down payments from purchasers to
construct their apartments because often the building is affected
or even stops if sales do not reach certain target."

A developer's reputation, the location, facilities, the
apartment's management and the cost of living should all be taken
into account, he says.

Ferry says the apartment industry in Jakarta has great
potential to grow. However, whether it becomes acceptable depends
on the benefits offered, not on mere promises, he says.