Joko Widodo, who became Governor of Jakarta in 2012 and enjoys much popular support, has high ambitions to turn Jakarta into a better organized city in terms of public transportation, housing and water management. Currently, Indonesia's capital city - which contains about ten million inhabitants - is plagued by continuous traffic jams, annual floods as well as poor and overcrowded housing for the poorer segments of Jakarta's society. Housing which is frequently flooded.

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Indonesia Investments presents the updated company profile of Agung Podomoro Land, a leading Indonesian property development company. The company focuses on real estate development such as apartment complexes, shopping malls, and office towers. Most of its projects are located on Java, Indonesia's most populous island. Agung Podomoro group, its holding company, has been active in Indonesia's property business for over 40 years. Some of its landmark projects include Senayan City, Podomoro City, and Kuningan City.

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Indonesia's largest listed property developer, PT Lippo Karawaci, will distribute IDR 270 billion (USD $27.8 million) in dividends to its shareholders (IDR 11,86 per share). This amount is equivalent to 25.5 percent of the company's net profit in 2012. The developer posted a 49.7 percent increase in net profit last year to IDR 1.06 trillion (USD $109.3 million). The company is convinced that it will increase its net profit to IDR 1.9 trillion (USD $195.9) in 2013.

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So far East Jakarta has been left behind in terms of property development in the capital city of Indonesia. For many decades Central and South Jakarta have seen the construction of many residential property and office tower projects. Recently, West Jakarta experienced a major surge in property development. Few investors, however, dared to develop projects in East Jakarta as demand from the (upper) middle class and elite for property or offices in East Jakarta has been low.

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When walking around the Taman Anggrek Mall and Central Park Mall in West Jakarta, you will see several big property projects being built: a new mall (Neo Soho Mall), apartment complexes (Neo Soho Apartments and Taman Anggrek Residences) and a new office tower (Soho Capital). In terms of property development in Indonesia, West Jakarta now seems developers' favorite location. Hari Raharta, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Real Estate Developers Association (REI), informed, however, West Jakarta has seen solid property development since the opening of the Jakarta-Tangerang toll road back in 1984.

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Indonesia opened the property market to those foreigners who reside (legally) in Indonesia. However, it also set tough requirements regarding foreign ownership of Indonesian property. Moreover, it remains nearly impossible for expats to obtain a local mortgage to finance the purchase of property. Although local credit may actually not be attractive for foreigners as interest rates are high in Indonesia, it is interesting to take a closer look at why Indonesian banks reject to sell mortgages to foreigners and whether foreigners are actually enticed to buy property in Indonesia?

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Foreigners (expats) can buy a landed house or apartment in Indonesia (under the so-called 'right-of-use' category, locally known as hak pakai, which is weaker than the ‘right-of-ownership’ category or hak milik). However, the government set various requirements (including a minimum price). A new regulation stipulates a foreigner is not allowed to rent out his Indonesian property to other parties (authorities have the right to scrap the foreigner's 'right-of-use' title if he breaches this prohibition). Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, Indonesia's Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister, provided an update on the issue of 'foreign property ownership in Indonesia'.

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Soon it will be made easier to buy property in Indonesia as the country’s central bank (Bank Indonesia) plans to ease down payment (DP) requirements for mortgages. Today (22/05), Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo told reporters that the DP obligation for first-home buyers will be lowered from 30 percent to 20 percent of the property’s value. This relaxation should have a positive effect on the performance of Indonesia’s financial institutions and property developers as demand for loans and property is assumed to grow.

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One of the ambitious targets of the Indonesian government is the realization of the “One Million Houses Program”. Through this program - scheduled to be launched on 30 April 2015 in Central Java by President Joko Widodo - the government aims to provide adequate housing facilities to low income citizens. Over half of these houses will be built using funds from the country’s state budget. State funds will also be used to finance the Housing Loan Liquidity Facility, government-backed mortgages for low-income people.

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Despite having slowed in recent years, there is still ample room for growth in Indonesia’s property sector, particularly strata title apartments in the capital city of Jakarta (‘strata title’ refers to the multi-level apartment blocks and horizontal subdivisions with shared areas). In 2015, a total of 46 property projects are expected to finish, supplying 24,954 new apartment units (with a combined value of USD $1.25 billion) to Jakarta, an 18.98 percent increase from last year’s new apartments realization.

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Indonesia's residential property market has shown robust growth in recent years as demand from the country's rapidly expanding middle class for mid-level and luxury property increased steadily amid a low interest rate environment and robust national economic growth. Demand for property is also backed by high consumer confidence as a recent Nielsen survey shows that Indonesians are among the world's most confident consumers. Indonesians' consumer confidence was at a four-year high in the fourth quarter of 2013.

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According to Ferry Salanto, Associate Research Director at Colliers International Indonesia, the weakening rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar in recent months has resulted in an increase of property sales in Indonesia, particularly apartments. Salanto says it is not just an investment for the buyer but also a matter of security. Property is currently a better and safer alternative to the holding of rupiahs. In the third quarter of 2013, property sales increased despite the higher benchmark interest rate and the tightening property credit environment.

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Bank Indonesia amended its regulation concerning the Loan To Value (LTV) and Financing To Value (FTV) ratio for property credit and property-backed consumer loans. The LTV/FTV ratio is the ratio between the value of credit/financing that can be allocated by a bank and the corresponding value of collateral in the form of property when the loan is allocated. Property is real property that includes houses, vertical housing (apartments, flats, condominiums and penthouses), home offices and home stores.

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