Location remains buyers' main consideration
Apartments have become an important alternative as a place to live for many Indonesians, as indicated in the continued increase in apartment sales during the past few years.
More than 40 new apartment projects have been built during the past two years, providing a total of 21,000 units, according to data issued by Procon property consulting company.
As of March this year, 68 percent of these apartment units had been sold, with total sales of Rp 11 trillion (about US$1.22 billion).
It is interesting to note that most of the buyers, according to the company, paid for their apartment in cash rather than with a bank loan.
Its Buyers' Preference Survey, issued in March this year, says condominium buyers are mostly 26 to 45 years old, well-educated and with experience of living overseas.
The buyers are mostly young couples with two children, and work within the capital's Central Business District (CBD) or the Golden Triangle -- the area bounded by Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. Rasuna Said.
What is their motivation in buying an apartment?. According to the Procon survey, it is divided between making an investment and wanting the unit as a principal residence.
About 31 percent of purchases are for investment purposes, 48 percent for use as a primary residence, 13 percent as a secondary residence, with the remaining 8 percent for other family members.
The survey also indicates that most buyers purchase an apartment for its strategic and convenient location.
Buyers' selection is based on five top criteria: convenient location in the heart of the city, close proximity to workplace, unit layout, completeness of facilities, and building design and site layout.
The most preferred locations, according to the survey, are Central Business District (CBD)-Jl. Sudirman (34 percent), South Jakarta (17 percent), CBD-Jl. Rasuna Said (15 percent), CBD-Mega Kuningan (8 percent), CBD-SCBD (6 percent), West Jakarta (6 percent) CBD-Jl. Satrio (4 percent), CBD-Jl. Thamrin (4 percent), North Jakarta (4 percent) and Central Jakarta (2 percent).
The survey also indicates that the fewer the number of units in the project, the better.
Apartment units measuring below 100 square meters (sq m) accounted for about 45 percent of purchases, followed by those 100 sq m to 200 sq m (about 38 percent) and 200 sq m to 300 sq m (11 percent). Those in the 300 sq m to 400 sq m category account for about 4 percent of purchases and those 400 sq m to 500 sq m fewer than 3 percent.
Apartments finished in minimalist architectural styling are the most preferred, accounting for 39 percent of buyers' choices, followed by classic contemporary (25 percent), Mediterranean (15 percent), Colonial (13 percent) and Gothic (2 percent), while 6 percent of buyers felt the architectural style was not important.
The most preferred facilities are a swimming pool (ranked first), fitness center (second), tennis court (third), mini- market (fourth), children's playground (fifth), terrace garden and BBQ area (sixth) and function room (seventh).
The survey also indicates that the most preferred apartment units are those carrying a price range of Rp 1 billion to Rp 1.5 billion), accounting for about 22 percent of buyers. Units in the price range Rp 750 million to Rp 1 billion are in second place (about 18 percent), with those in the range Rp 500 million to Rp 750 million third (about 13 percent).
Cash installments are the most common form of payment (39 percent), followed by hard cash (23 percent), bank loans (17 percent) and balloon payment (17 percent). -- The Jakarta Post