More exclusive housing estates under construction

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.