By Shabnam Muzammil:
Wealthy foreigners have ignited a property frenzy in the once sleepy seaside village of Seminyak in Bali, Indonesia, transforming the town into a major market for luxury real estate, reported The Guardian.
“Capital appreciation has been substantial (in Bali) in the past decade,” said Zoe Rice of Elite Havens, a property agency which sells beachfront villas priced from £1.5 million (S$2.81 million) and other high-end homes located near the island’s famous spots like Ku De Ta and Potato Head.
In particular, "there’s been a dramatic increase in Seminyak, where land prices have almost tripled in the last two years because demand is so high and supply so low."
Bali has been nicknamed by locals as kampung bule, meaning “whitey town” due to the large number of overseas visitors coming to its beaches.
“Housing in Bali is expensive now because many ‘bule’ live in their own private villas, and they buy with dollars and pay dollar prices,” said 31-year-old Budi Susila, a taxi driver who fetches foreigners across the island.
“That makes locals want to sell their land to foreigners, which makes them interested in moving here, which means that every year we lose more rice paddy fields and more greenery.”
At the moment, local buyers especially those from Jakarta and Surabaya, account for most of Bali’s property transactions. But there is also a steady stream of buyers from the UK, France and Australia, as well as Asian expatriates from Singapore and Hong Kong.
Vacant land is most sought-after by Indonesians, followed by hotels, condo-hotels and private villas, while foreign buyers prefer homes and villas.
Image: Strong demand is being seen among foreign buyers for luxury villas in Bali
Shabnam Muzammil, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email shabnam@propertyguru.com.sg
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