Indonesians not comfortable living in flats
Indonesians not comfortable living in flats
JAKARTA (JP): Psychological hurdles are still the main reason why Indonesians are reluctant to live in apartments, Yan Mogi of the Indonesian Real Estate Association says.
"Next to the high cost, what people commonly ask is: 'where is the land that I bought?'" Yan told reporters at this office yesterday.
Pointing out that the city has built about 18,000 apartments in the middle and upper categories, Yan said that the way out of this problem is to give clear information and encouragement to the public about the collective ownership of the land apartments are built on and the service given by developers.
"We have to let them see, try and be sure about living in apartments," he said.
One method of doing so, he said, would be by airing a television soap opera about life in an apartment, which he is now preparing.
The government introduced apartments in 1985 as the overpopulated capital city needed high-rise buildings to overcome the limited availability of land.
Although low-cost apartments are increasingly in demand, similar facilities in the middle and upper categories, which cost between US$1,000 and $3,000 in monthly repayments, are more difficult to sell.
"Only relatively few people are willing to stay in apartments, usually those who have lived abroad," he said.
Three out of four people prefer to live in a house where they can have a yard, he said.
People's reluctance to buy apartments has even led them to turn down the loans offered by many banks.
According to the branch manager of Bank Umum National, Fridiati Sugandi, since the beginning of this year loans for apartments have been as easy to obtain as house loans.
Yan said yesterday that besides information, providing good after-sales service is one of the most important ways to eliminate people's unwillingness to live in apartments.
"Many people leave their apartments because they are disappointed with the maintenance services," he said.
Therefore, he said, encouraging people to live in apartments would be useless without providing good maintenance, facilities and security.
Low-cost
Meanwhile, head of the city housing agency, Ongky Sukasah, said recently that the government considers building low-cost apartments a priority.
"The agency invites any private company to cooperate in building low-cost apartments. We provide the land and oversee marketing," he said.
He said the agency is presently cooperating with PT Bakrie Building Industry and PT BBI in building low-cost apartments, such as in Pondok Pinang and Kebon Jahe.
At present Jakarta needs about 10,000 additional low-cost apartments a year. Since the government can provide only 2,000 "we hope that the rest can be built in cooperation with private companies", Ongky said. (03)