House prices increase 15%

House prices increase 15%

JAKARTA (JP): The price of homes in the city is likely to
increase an average of 15 percent following the fuel price hike,
a developer has said.

Director of PT Metropolitan Development Nandya Widya said on
Saturday that the hike in house prices was inevitable as the cost
of building materials and construction were also likely to rise.

She said increased prices should be in accordance with the
improvement of people's purchasing power.

Unfortunately, their purchasing power does not seem to have
improved, which will result in a fall in the sale of homes, she
said.

Nandya said to sell homes, "value engineering" would be made
one of the factors in reducing the cost of building materials.

"But the strategy should also be based on the current building
standard," she said.

A building will have less detail to reduce the use of cement
and the use of roof tiles and logs will also be reduced.

Vice president of PT Metropolitan Land Hermansyah said that
sales of homes this year had increased 30 percent compared to
sales in the first half of last year.

Although an increase in prices might affect sales, he said
business prospects were bright as people bought homes not for
investment, but out of necessity. This is encouraging the
development of housing estates, he said.