Sweet shelters for flood evacuees

Sweet shelters for flood evacuees

Jonminofri Nazir, Contributor, Jakarta

When severe flooding hit Jakarta recently, many apartments
were deluged with new guests and prospective buyers.

The well-heeled living in plush housing complexes in the
flood-stricken Kelapa Gading area of North Jakarta, for example,
hastily took refuge in nearby apartments, increasing occupancy by
up to 30 percent.

"We have noticed such a tendency," said Sari Dewi, deputy
director of Ray White Real Estate Indonesia.

Previously, many of the haves living in expensive housing,
rarely considered apartments. They, instead, preferred to own 500
square meters or more of land to build well-furnished homes.

The official estimation of possible flooding in the capital
every five years could not even change their mind about
apartments. They did not necessarily make a wrong choice, but
they may have been too optimistic about their own safety from
floods until the recent floods taught them a valuable lesson.

Actually, the urban rich in Jakarta -- most of whom are
Chinese-Indonesians -- learned about the extra benefits of living
in apartments during the bloody 1998 riots that targeted many
Chinese-Indonesians, as well as their businesses and homes.

Similar to the recent floods, many people in that year rushed
to find spaces in apartments, seeking temporary safety from the
rioters. Expatriates living in exclusive neighborhoods also
rushed to apartments in prime areas and the central business
district around Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Rasuna Said and Jl. Gatot
Subroto. Those areas have proven to be peaceful, safe from
disturbances and floods -- so far -- and have easy and safe
access to vital areas, such as the Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport in Cengkareng.

Of course the rush for apartments during floods has made many
apartment developers and managers happy, however, the high demand
for apartments is only temporary. Such a condition only benefits
the owners of leased apartments as tenants come and go based on
their need, which is often temporary. In short, wealthy Jakarta
residents still see apartments as a stop-gap measure. The
sweetest home for them and their families is still a house on a
large plot of land with a garden and a gate.

The unfavorable marketing situation has halted the efforts of
many top apartment developers to construct new projects. Leased
apartments are not popular, due to the higher maintenance costs.
Developers are more inclined to simply sell the units for faster
cash flow.

Based on that, it is no wonder why almost no new apartments
have been built in the capital and most major cities across the
country in the past few years. Some blame it on the ongoing
monetary crisis, which is also correct.

Property analysts have estimated that the number of new
apartment units available in Jakarta would not grow at all this
year. Out of the 4,062 units already built in the capital, 62
percent are located in South Jakarta and 21 percent in Central
Jakarta. The rest are spread out in other parts of the city.

And observers firmly believe that Indonesia will not see a
sharp increase in demand for apartments in the near future as
people prefer houses to apartments as reflected by the
availability of a small number of apartments and the small value
of apartment transactions. The gloomy figures have also been
revealed by data from Ray White Real Estate.

Consequently, some developers have even changed the function
of their buildings from apartments to office buildings such as
the Arcadia building on Jl. Simatupang in South Jakarta.

To many Indonesian eyes, occupants at apartments mostly
consist of expatriates. Indonesians residing in apartments
generally consist of those accustomed to living abroad. But Sari
Dewi has noticed a new trend lately. There are two new groups of
apartment lessees who have shown an increase in number.

The first group consists of elderly residents who want to
spend the rest of their lives in apartments. The number of the
elderly settling in apartments is not so large but keeps growing.
They probably do not want to trouble their children, relatives or
other people for their care, Sari said.

The second group represents students. Sari Dewi has learned
that more and more students prefer occupying apartments. Several
students share a lease on a middle-class apartment, so each of
them can pay the lease which is generally the same cost of
renting a room.

"They have been influenced by the Friends tv show," she said
referring to the television program which features a group of
attractive 20-something Americans who share an apartment and have
a fun life.

The number of expatriates living in Indonesia varies as much
as a roller coaster -- ups and downs -- depending on the
political/security situation and the progress of economic
recovery. Political upheavals in Indonesia are often followed by
violence and insecurity. It is still unpredictable, as to when
the Indonesian economy will recover from the crisis.

The number of overseas residents goes hand in hand with
economic recovery. Economic improvement -- characterized by
political security, justice and respect for laws and people --
will attract many foreign companies along with experts, who
usually prefer to live in apartments. An outbreak of violence in
Indonesia can trigger an exodus of expatriates. They are often
followed by Indonesian executives and their families, who are
increasingly taking apartments in Singapore leaving the
apartments here less and less occupied.

The market potential of apartments in Indonesia is also
derived from Indonesians who once lived or studied overseas. The
comfort of living in apartments abroad has given them a taste for
living in apartments here.

And several young people here now believe that living in
apartments is a lifestyle for modern metropolitan people which
they aspire to be. Unfortunately, their number is still
relatively small.

But analysis alone does not automatically boost the occupancy
rates here since Indonesians, by tradition, prefer to live
together with other members of their families. It means that they
usually need spacious places to live in, chat, gather and sleep.
So apartments with no yard, garden or garage is not a house too
them. In addition, to lease an apartment is often too expensive
for locals.

Under a government-sponsored scheme, the state has developed
low-cost apartment units to help solve the growing number of
social problems in the capital such as illegal settlement.

There were problems in the beginning, like the stairs, drying
clothes and noise, since many of the occupants were not
accustomed to the apartments' rules and ethics. Lately, many of
the problems have been settled and occupants have learned and
recognized the benefits of living in the apartments, such as
privacy matters, less traffic jams and cheap maintenance.

But the country does need a more effective and widespread
campaign to promote apartments as a lifestyle and a cheap
alternative in Indonesia. Otherwise, occupancy growth will remain
stagnant.