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.