REI: Land for Food Self-Sufficiency Triggers Vertical Housing Trend
The provision of land for the food self-sufficiency programme is estimated to erode the availability of land for housing. The property market will thus shift towards vertical housing.
“An interesting point is that Indonesia is now aggressively pursuing food self-sufficiency, which requires an extraordinary amount of land. And just recently, regulations or prices for vertical houses have been issued,” said Deputy Chairman of the Regulation and Permitting Division of the Real Estate Indonesia (REI) Central Java Chapter, Bambang Sriyanto, at the opening of REI EXPO 2026 at Mall Solo Paragon on Friday, 17 April 2026.
REI EXPO 2026 is organised by the REI Solo Raya Commissariat. This exhibition is the fifth to be held since the REI Solo Raya Commissariat’s board was inaugurated in 2024.
Bambang predicts that over the next five years, the housing trend will shift from landed houses to vertical housing. Land scarcity and rising land prices are seen as making land-based homes increasingly unaffordable for the public. The public will be directed towards vertical housing, with the consequence of higher construction costs and higher operational expenses.
“In the next five years, there will be no houses touching the ground. In the next five years, houses will be expensive, and you won’t be able to garden. And living in houses that don’t touch the ground, besides the high building costs, the operational costs are very high, and socialisation is very limited,” he said.
Bambang also encourages the public to take advantage of the current momentum, when stocks of landed houses are still available in the market. He views the organisation of the REI Expo as a strategic opportunity for prospective buyers before the property market structure changes become more evident.
“So at this extraordinary expo opportunity, while the developers’ house stocks here are still all touching the ground, please take advantage of it, everyone present in this mall. Feel free to transact,” Bambang stated.
Meanwhile, according to the Chairman of the REI Solo Raya Commissariat, Oma Nuryanto, another structural challenge facing the property industry currently is the global and domestic economic conditions, including issues with Protected Paddy Fields (LSD) with overlapping regulations between central and local or regency/city levels.
“Many developer friends who have already taken credit end up being hampered by this problem and stop halfway, potentially leading to bad debts,” he revealed.
Through REI EXPO, which this time is held from 16 to 26 April 2026, it is hoped to boost property sales amid industry pressures that have been felt since the beginning of the year. According to Oma, the current momentum is considered right for the public to buy houses.
“Interest rates are relatively low, around 4 to 5 percent. This is very attractive for consumers to take out mortgage loans, both subsidised and commercial,” he said.
In addition to low interest rates, other stimuli come from government policies in the form of tax incentives. The Value Added Tax (PPN) exemption programme, which still applies until the end of the year, adds further appeal for prospective buyers.
The organisers are also offering aggressive promotions, including Umrah pilgrimage prizes for consumers who buy houses in cash worth Rp 2 billion. This step is expected to encourage instant transactions at the exhibition site.
Optimism among industry players is also driven by the latest policy from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) regarding the relaxation of rules for the Financial Information Service System (SLIK). In that policy, people with small credit records under Rp 1 million still have the opportunity to access subsidised home ownership credit (KPR).
“This is a breath of fresh air for developers, especially the subsidised segment, because previously many credit applications were hampered,” said Oma.
REI EXPO 2026 is attended by 30 participants consisting of 15 housing developers and 15 supporting sectors, such as banking, building materials shops, to Umrah travel agencies. The organisers target transaction values of Rp 50 billion, up from last year’s achievement of Rp 30 billion.
One of the exhibition visitors, Nur Anggraini, said she was looking for information about housing. She plans to buy a house this year for investment in the Solo Raya area.
“There are many interesting choices. I’m looking for information first for consideration in buying the house I want. Hopefully, there’s one that fits,” Nur said.