Apartment Sales Predicted To Still Sluggish In 2020

JAKARTA - Colliers International Indonesia Senior Associate Director (property consultant) Ferry Salanto explained, in 2020 or after the 2019 Election, the performance of various property subsectors such as apartments is still depressed.

"The strata of apartment market is still under pressure this year, especially because investors are still considering rental income that is balanced with the purchase price of the unit," Ferry Salanto said, Thursday, January 9.

Based on Colliers' data, the absorption rate in the fourth quarter of 2019 only reached 87.2 percent, an increase of only 0.3 percent compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the average sales price in the fourth quarter of 2019 also stagnated at IDR 34.8 million per square meter, or only 0.02 percent higher than the average sales price in the previous quarter.

He revealed, although the developer has offered various kinds of promotions, the transaction volume has not yet reached a satisfactory stage.

"People say they are waiting until the election is over. But the election is over, we can see that the condition is still not very moving [for apartment performance]," said Ferry.

In addition, he said, potential buyers generally expect more stimulus from the government to significantly accelerate this property sector.

This is because although BI's benchmark interest rate has been lowered by around 5 percent, it is estimated that it will still take about half a year more for various banks to adjust it.

"However, it is estimated that market conditions will experience a recovery in 2021," said Ferry.

It is suggested that now is the right time to buy because of the increasing number of promotional options offered by developers who are focused on selling unsold products.