More exclusive housing estates under construction

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An ideal residential area should not be only safe and free from pollution, but also have easy access to shopping and recreation centers and schools.

This might explain why almost all real estate developers promise not only good quality houses but also other important facilities such as a sports cub, a school, leisure facilities, a food court and a trade center.

At the Alam Sutera housing estate in Serpong, Tangerang, for instance, the residential community can enjoy the view of a lake, called Sutera Telaga Biru, one of the estate's recreational facilities.

The seven-hectare lake allows residents to fish or just sit on the banks of the lake in the morning or evening. Apart from the lake, the estate is also built with a spacious family park, children's playground, a luxury lake clubhouse, a basketball court, St. Laurentia elementary school and a trade center.

Alam Sutera housing estate, built by developer PT Alfa Goldland Realty, occupies some 1,000 hectares of land.

Several hundreds of houses of different types have been built by the company in several housing clusters since 1994. More houses are currently under construction in the Cluster Sutera Narada and Cluster Sutera Lavender Park.

"As Jakarta becomes packed with people due to the rapid population growth, more people, particularly the middle-upward groups, tend to look for more secure, comfortable and environmentally friendly houses," said Ingrid Leria Wang, sales manager of PT Alfa Goldland Realty.

Alfa Goldland Realty was among the many housing developers taking part in an exhibition at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center (JHCC), in central Jakarta recently.

The developers not only offered attractive discounts, but also television sets, motorcycles or an overseas visits as prizes to lucky buyers.

"We offered a five-day tour to France for buyers who bought our property during the promotional period that started in July of this year and ended on Aug. 29, 2004," said France-based PT Les Nouveaux Constructeurs Premier Real Property Indonesia's sales executive Ita Anisa.

The developer is currently preparing to build the Lavanoise Village housing estate in Bukit Sentul, Bogor, West Java, with at least 100 exclusive houses to be constructed in the first stage.

The La Vanoise Village housing estate construction project will start in early September of this year. The houses will have a modern minimalist design. "We have a natural environment and fresh air in Bukit Sentul," said Ita Anisa.

Several other exclusive housing estates are also under construction. They include Gading Serpong Permai and Ambassador Gading Serpong housing estates, which are both located in Serpong, some 30 kilometers west of Jakarta.

The Gading Serpong Permai housing estate developed by PT Summarecon Agung occupies some 400 hectares of land. As many as 80 units of houses of different types are currently being constructed in a five-hectare cluster.

The houses are being built with modern minimalist architecture. Each block in the housing complex is named after famous European cities such as Munich, Hamburg and Lisboa.

The first stage of the Ambassador Gading Serpong housing estate construction project will commence this year. A shopping center with a food court will be also built in the complex.

Housing clusters named after world's major cities can also be found in several luxury housing estates in Cibubur, East Jakarta.

Kota Wisata housing estate, for instance, uses Western cities for its particular clusters, such as Montreal, Vancouver and Wellington. The houses are built with European architectural designs to provide a Western atmosphere.

Raffles Hills housing estate even uses western names for particular types of houses such as Asley for type 481/412 square meters, Catherine for type 486/400 square meters, Philip for type 300/322 square meters and Thomson for type 240/305 square meters.

Like other exclusive housing estates, Raffles Hills housing estate built on some 145 hectares of land will also have various facilities, such as a sports club called Stanford Activity Club, an international school, Sekolah Tiara Bangsa, a multifunction hall, a mini market, a bank and a cluster system with around-the- clock security.

PT Gunung Subur Sentosa, developer of Raffles Hills and PT Duta Pertiwi of the Sinar Mas Group, are now also gearing up to build more exclusive houses in Cibubur to take advantage of rising demand.

Under its master plan, PT Duta Pertiwi plans to build 5,000 houses by 2008.

"About 2,000 units of houses have been constructed since 1998 and now we are preparing to build more units of house in several clusters, with each cluster made up of between 150 and 400 units of houses," said Legenda Wisata's sales executive Hernanto Aliwarga.

The Wisata Legenda housing estate occupies some 250 hectares of land.

Even though the houses are built exclusively on an estate, the developer offers small types of houses sold at relatively lower prices. "In addition to families with deep pockets, we also target young executives wishing to own a house in an exclusive estate," he said.

The housing estates in the area has relatively cooler temperature compared to other parts of Jakarta because it is closer to Bogor, West Java.

More luxury houses are also being constructed in the expanding Kelapa Gading residential area in North Jakarta. Its developer PT Summarecon Agung is currently building about 80 luxury houses at the Gading Park View, part of the residential area.

Summarecon Agung's corporate secretary Johanes Mardjuki said that 60 percent of the 20-hectare Gading Park View would be appropriated for parks.

"We want our estate to be environmentally healthy," he said.

The estate is not only complete with a family park, children's playground and a swimming pool, but also shops, said Johanes.

Each housing estate sets its own price for exclusive houses, depending on the types and size. The price range for a house at Alam Sutera housing estate, for instance, is from Rp 650 million to Rp 1.5 billion. A small type house at the Gading Park View is set at Rp 1.5 billion and the biggest one carries the price tag of Rp 3 billion.

But several developers with housing estates in Cibubur offer more competitive prices because they also build houses targeted at middle-class families.

At Wisata Legenda housing estate, for instance, the price range for houses is from Rp 141 million to Rp 322 million. Prices of houses at the Raffles Hills housing estate range from Rp 200 million to Rp 3 billion.

A property salesman at the exhibition said the relatively low housing loan interest rate made property a preferable investment instrument among wealthy families.