What Has Covid Done For Land Prices

chrisco

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Nov 28, 2010
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Everyone knows Bali land prices don’t make much sense. Any opinions on how much impact the downturn in the Bali economy over the last year have had on prices?

Not sure I’d want to go through the hassle of buying land again in Bali, but interested to see what others were thinking?
 

Mark

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Apr 19, 2004
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Everyone knows Bali land prices don’t make much sense.
Everyone? Perhaps many, but then again does a USD 100 million condo in New York (or anywhere for that matter) make much sense? https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/rea...-new-york-city-s-billionaires-row/ar-BB17qwYk. The point being that Bali is not unique in having a property market that can defy some people's expectations of what they think prices should be.

Willing buyer/willing seller - that's what makes sense. As for land prices in Bali, it all depends on the seller's need for cash and the buyer's interest. Obviously in economically depressed times like these there are more potential sellers who need cash. At the same time, there are fewer buyers loaded with extra money to splash out on property. But, if you're cashed up and in the market to buy, now is as good a time as there's been for many years.
 

JackStraw

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Mar 14, 2017
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I can speak from personal experience. Covid has been very good for the land prices in Bali. i got a great deal in Gianyar because of it and am very grateful.

Even in the expensive area of Balangan my friend got an amazing deal on some ocean view land due to Covid as well
 
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spicyayam

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Jan 12, 2009
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I did notice quite a bit of construction still going on around me. At least some people have some work.

Construction of new villas in Bali is defying the steep economic downturn that the coronavirus pandemic has caused for the tourist hotspot.

With around 60% of its gross domestic product derived from tourism, Bali's economy has been the hardest hit in Indonesia by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's central bank reported negative growth of just under 11% for the province in September while the Ministry of Labor reports at least 80,000 tourism workers lost their jobs.

The effect on the island's all-important accommodation sector has been devastating. Only 3% of Bali's 130,000 hotel rooms are occupied while rental rates for the island's 4,000 villas have been slashed by as much as 85%. The property market has hit a wall. "You can't sell anything at the moment," a prominent real estate agent told Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity.


However, the building of new villas -- mainly for people from Australia, Europe and the U.S. -- appears to defy this calculus. Construction activity is most pronounced in the surf mecca of Canggu, where a property boom saw land values increase 40 to 50 times in the last 10 years. Some of these projects were started or conceived before the pandemic. But many are new projects commissioned by foreign investors.

"We are receiving more inquiries from expats living in Indonesia than ever before -- people who out of the blue decided to invest. It has really surprised me," says Baptiste Dufau of Bali Sandstone Consulting.

Manuele Mossoni, director of architectural company 2M Design Lab, says his "business has increased 20% to 30% compared to last year." Terje Nilsen, director of Seven Stones Indonesia, a property consultant that caters to foreign investors, also reports an uptick in trade, stressing "This is our best business year in 15 years in Bali."

Chief among market forces driving the phenomenon is investor confidence that Bali, which attracted 16 million visitors in 2019, is going to be more popular when COVID vaccines become available and travel resumes.

 

JackStraw

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Mar 14, 2017
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Yes a few artchitects
I did notice quite a bit of construction still going on around me. At least some people have some work.

Construction of new villas in Bali is defying the steep economic downturn that the coronavirus pandemic has caused for the tourist hotspot.

With around 60% of its gross domestic product derived from tourism, Bali's economy has been the hardest hit in Indonesia by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's central bank reported negative growth of just under 11% for the province in September while the Ministry of Labor reports at least 80,000 tourism workers lost their jobs.

The effect on the island's all-important accommodation sector has been devastating. Only 3% of Bali's 130,000 hotel rooms are occupied while rental rates for the island's 4,000 villas have been slashed by as much as 85%. The property market has hit a wall. "You can't sell anything at the moment," a prominent real estate agent told Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity.


However, the building of new villas -- mainly for people from Australia, Europe and the U.S. -- appears to defy this calculus. Construction activity is most pronounced in the surf mecca of Canggu, where a property boom saw land values increase 40 to 50 times in the last 10 years. Some of these projects were started or conceived before the pandemic. But many are new projects commissioned by foreign investors.

"We are receiving more inquiries from expats living in Indonesia than ever before -- people who out of the blue decided to invest. It has really surprised me," says Baptiste Dufau of Bali Sandstone Consulting.

Manuele Mossoni, director of architectural company 2M Design Lab, says his "business has increased 20% to 30% compared to last year." Terje Nilsen, director of Seven Stones Indonesia, a property consultant that caters to foreign investors, also reports an uptick in trade, stressing "This is our best business year in 15 years in Bali."

Chief among market forces driving the phenomenon is investor confidence that Bali, which attracted 16 million visitors in 2019, is going to be more popular when COVID vaccines become available and travel resumes.


Yes a few contractors and architects I've been speaking to have confirmed this. While many of the projects going on right now are carry overs from pre-pandemic times, they all said they have seen an increase in land purchases and construction inquires over the past several months.
 

Markit

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Sep 3, 2007
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Since most of it comes from my area of Bali I was completely baffled why the roads have been still full of gravel and stone trucks headed south - OK in the boom times understandable but even now the roads are full. One truck on the next for the whole trip to DPS and the road destruction has also carried on a pace (4 ton trucks with a 8/10 ton loads).
 

JackStraw

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Mar 14, 2017
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Since most of it comes from my area of Bali I was completely baffled why the roads have been still full of gravel and stone trucks headed south - OK in the boom times understandable but even now the roads are full. One truck on the next for the whole trip to DPS and the road destruction has also carried on a pace (4 ton trucks with a 8/10 ton loads).

You're telling me! I was coming back home from Sidemen the other day and the whole windy road down was full of those bright green trucks and the drivers were all driving like they were all cranked up (probably were). Not too safe to say the least but I couldn't help but wonder where these guys were all going in such a hurry.
 

Mark

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Apr 19, 2004
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I do not fully agree with the Nikkei Asia article in spicy's post #4 above, not in that there is a boom in villa construction (there clearly is), but regarding who the villas are for. It's not all for foreigners... Lots of Indonesians, especially from Jakarta, are buying land and building second homes in Bali. They have seen during the pandemic that things can shut down quickly and they can't easily escape to their usual haunts in Singapore and Australia, so it therefore makes sense for them to own a home on a beautiful and stable island in their own country that is both relatively well developed and free from religious strife. Many will not rent these villas out to others, but will keep them as family getaways from their lives in the big cities.
 
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tel522

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Oct 30, 2015
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Ya i agree , my wife is involved in property and land here , normally 10 to 50 billion range , 99% of buyers are local , prices have obviously reduced substantially .
 
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JackStraw

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Ya i agree , my wife is involved in property and land here , normally 10 to 50 billion range , 99% of buyers are local , prices have obviously reduced substantially .

Yep, when I was searching for land to buy at the beginning of the pandemic, I was always being outbought by Jakarta people. I would find a plot I like and then a week later, the owner would call in and say it already got scooped up by Jakarta people. This happened to me like 3 times.
 
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Topsy Krets

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Bali will totally bloom after the pandemic. Crazy amount of new villas are being build everywhere. Prices perhaps will decrease for a short time for 500k and up villas, thats all. There is only one Bali.
 
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tel522

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Normal house prices have also dropped , never mind villas , with many remaining unsold after substantial reductions .
Lets face it most property here is junk construction ,with monster maintenance costs , Scary !
 
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JackStraw

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Bali will totally bloom after the pandemic. Crazy amount of new villas are being build everywhere. Prices perhaps will decrease for a short time for 500k and up villas, thats all. There is only one Bali.

Only one Bali? But...but the government says there are 10 New Balis now :p
 

JackStraw

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Normal house prices have also dropped , never mind villas , with many remaining unsold after substantial reductions .
Lets face it most property here is junk construction ,with monster maintenance costs , Scary !

My friend is currently renting a brand new villa in Jimbaran. By brand new I mean 2 years old but my god, the thing looks at least 10 years old. Cheap materials, cheap labor and rapid build time are just a few factors causing this. I imagine in about 5 - 10 years, we're going to have a crisis on our hands with a billions shit villas in Bali that no one will want to buy.
 
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Markit

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My friend is currently renting a brand new villa in Jimbaran. By brand new I mean 2 years old but my god, the thing looks at least 10 years old. Cheap materials, cheap labor and rapid build time are just a few factors causing this. I imagine in about 5 - 10 years, we're going to have a crisis on our hands with a billions shit villas in Bali that no one will want to buy.

Real estate agents tend to push villa pricing towards the value of only the land anyway. Anything sitting on it is considered a bonus.

Take a drive down main street Kuta if you want to see derelict buildings - one year of no upkeep and stuff starts to fall apart here - badly!
 
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