Bank Indonesia, the central bank of Indonesia, is studying whether it should relax the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for the purchase of a house through the house ownership credit scheme (in Indonesian: kredit pemilikan rumah, abbreviated KPR). Furthermore, Bank Indonesia may allow the KPR scheme for the purchase of a second house that is still under construction. These measures would be efforts to boost credit growth, particularly in the property sector, and boost overall economic activity in Indonesia.

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Property market research firm Colliers International Indonesia said Indonesia's residential apartment sector remained weak in the first quarter of 2016. The sector is still feeling the impact of the slowdown in the overall property sector of Indonesia that occurred over the past two years. Ferry Salanto, Associate Director for Research at Colliers International Indonesia, said only three new apartment projects were launched in Jakarta in Q1-2016: (1) The Residence at The St Regis Jakarta, (2) Arandra Residence and (3) the Victoria Tower Fatmawati City Center (these projects are expected to be completed by 2019 or 2020).

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Ceramic sales in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2016 are estimated to stand at 85 million square meters (m2) only, far below the 100 million m2 target that was set by the Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (Asaki). Weak demand for ceramics in Indonesia is primarily caused by the country's sluggish property sector that is yet to rebound after several years of slowdown. Elisa Sinaga, Chairman of Asaki, stated that despite ceramic sales having improved slightly in late-2015, demand fell again in the first quarter of 2016 and remained weak up to the start of April 2016.

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The government of Indonesia unveiled its eleventh economic stimulus package. The country's Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution presented the package at the State Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday (29/03). Indonesia's latest stimulus package includes a lower tax rate on property purchased by local real estate investment trusts, the harmonization of customs checks across the nation's ports (curtailing dwell time), government subsidies for loans taken up Indonesia's export-oriented small and medium enterprises, and the drawing of a roadmap for the nation's pharmaceutical industry.

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On 27 March 2016, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website over the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic matters such as infrastructure development, the current account deficit, updates on various sectors including property and banking, the controversial decision regarding the Masela LNG plant, land reclamation, and much more.

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Despite the slowdown that occurred in Indonesia's property sector amid the overall cooling economy, at least 54 apartment projects are currently being developed in the capital city of Jakarta in 2016, nearly all of these projects are situated outside the city's central business district. Investment in apartments remains attractive for both the developer and end-user (or investor), various property watchers say. Meanwhile, global rating agency Standard & Poor's Financial Services says the outlook for Indonesian property developers this year depends on the passing of the tax amnesty bill.

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Indonesia's banking sector expects that House Ownership Credit (Kredit Pemilikan Rumah, abbreviated KPR) will grow strongly in 2016 as Indonesian people's purchasing power and consumer confidence is estimated to improve amid accelerated economic growth. The majority of home buyers in Indonesia use KPR from a financial institution to finance the purchase of a house. However, interest rates on KPR are high and therefore a burden for many property buyers (although the government provides subsidy for the low-income group that uses KPR to finance a first-time property purchase).

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Indonesia's ceramic sales are estimated to remain sluggish in the first quarter of 2016. Elisa Sinaga, Chairman of the Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (Asaki), said domestic ceramic sales are estimated to be around 90 million square meters in Q1-2016, stagnant from sales in the same quarter last year. In full-year 2015 Indonesia's ceramic sales plunged 28.6 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 360 million square meters. The nation's ceramic industry has been plagued by Indonesia's slowing economic growth, particularly the slowdown in Indonesia's property sector.

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Stakeholders in Indonesia's property sector may regret to learn that Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) decided to postpone deliberations on the tax amnesty bill until (at least) April 2016. This tax amnesty bill, originally planned to be implemented in early 2016, offers attractive tax rates to those tax evaders who declare untaxed wealth and repatriate their funds to Indonesia. If implemented in early 2016, then the bill was estimated to generate up to USD $4.4 billion in additional tax revenue in 2016. Meanwhile, part of repatriated funds would find their way into the nation's property sector.

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The latest survey of Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia) shows that price growth and sales growth in Indonesia's residential property sector continued to slow in the fourth quarter of 2015. The Q4-2015 residential property price index rose by a mere 0.73 percent (quarter-to-quarter) from a growth pace of 0.99 percent (q/q) in the preceding quarter. Indonesian property developers expect that this slowdown will continue at least throughout the first half of 2016.

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The tax amnesty program of Indonesia is yet to have an impact on Indonesia's property sector. Earlier, analysts and stakeholders expected part of the asset repatriations into Indonesia (under the government's tax amnesty program) to flow to property, either property ownership or property development projects. Although tax declarations and additional government revenue under the amnesty program were a success, the repatriation of assets that were stashed overseas has been weak. However, some stakeholders are optimistic that repatriated funds will flow to Indonesia's residential property in Q2-2017.

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Having an office in the center of Jakarta is usually an ambition of foreign and local businessmen in Indonesia. An office in Jakarta's Central Business District, the heart of the capital, is a strategic location (located close to the headquarters of numerous other companies that are active in Indonesia) and it adds a certain status to your company even though you will have to battle severe traffic congestion each time you visit or leave the office (but it is fair to say that also in the other parts of Jakarta traffic is immense).

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The year 2016 was a good one in terms of foreign investment in Jakarta's residential property sector even though Indonesia's property market remained sluggish. Various foreign property developers - including China's state-owned China Communications Construction Group (CCCG), Japanese firms Mitsubishi Corporation and Tokyu Land Corporation as well as Hong Kong's HongKong Land and Malaysia's Sime Darby Group - announced to engage in big property projects (in and around the capital city of Jakarta) that have a combined value of USD $2.8 billion.

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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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Alam Sutera Realty, an Indonesia-based real estate development company, is plagued by overall declining growth in Indonesia's property sector. In the first half of 2016 Alam Sutera recorded IDR 966.5 billion (approx. USD $74 million) in pre-sales, only 19.3 percent of the company's full-year target. What are the strategies of this company to combat the slowdown?

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Indonesian listed financial institution Bank Tabungan Negara should benefit from the government's Housing Loan Liquidity Facility (in Indonesian: Fasilitas Likuiditas Pembiayaan Perumahan, or FLPP), a government-subsidized mortgage program for those low-income citizens who have never bought a house before. This scheme should boost House Ownership Credit (Kredit Pemilikan Rumah, or KPR) in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Good news for Bank Tabungan Negara, which is the market leader in Indonesia's mortgage loans sector.

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Indonesian listed property developer Surya Semesta Internusa is experiencing difficult times. The firm's three main business segments - construction, property and hospitality - are all under pressure. In the first six months of 2016 net profit of the developer plunged 64.3% (y/y) to IDR 91.5 billion (approx. USD $7 million), far below analysts' forecasts. The decline was mainly caused by a fall in its net revenue. Net revenue of Surya Semesta Internusa fell 16.6 percent (y/y) to IDR 2.08 trillion (approx. USD $159 million).

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Today, Indonesia's House of Representatives passed the Tax Amnesty Bill into law. Indonesian authorities expect this bill to bring home trillions of rupiah (hundreds of million of US dollars) that partly flow into Indonesia's property sector. Total Bangun Persada, one of Indonesia's leading construction companies, is one of the companies that can benefit from these inflows. CIMB Securities expects the company's revenue to grow 6.8 percent (y/y) to IDR 2.52 trillion (approx. USD $189 million) in 2016.

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Indonesian real estate developer Bumi Serpong Damai, part of the Sinar Mas Group, has ample room for expansion. According to its latest quarterly financial report, the company owns 3,954.88 hectares of land that has not been developed yet, 70 percent of which is located near BSD City, an ambitious urban planning scheme that combines housing, business and commercial properties not far from Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. The company also has land banks in Jakarta, Bogor, Surabaya, Palembang, Balikpapan and Samarinda.

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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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