Indonézske voľby ovplyvňujú sektor nehnuteľností

As the Indonesian presidential election in July approaches, the country’s property sector is expected to experience a temporary slowdown, according to analysts.

In a recent study by Moody’s Investors Service, the agency stated that buyers are holding off acquisitions until the results of the elections are determined. Combined with higher mortgages, loan restrictions and Indonesia’s slowing economy, the local real estate market is predicted to slump this quarter.

“We expect revenue growth [in the property sector] will slow to 11 percent in 2014, from 29 percent in 2013, as a result of a high base of comparison last year and slower-than-expected marketing sales,” Jacintha Poh of Moody’s told Bangkok Post.

Global property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Indonesia also forecasts a softer market demand in the luxury apartment segment, although the 2014-15 outlook is still upbeat due to limited luxury supply. The condominium segment, however, is expected to weaken in the coming months as a reaction to increased interest rate of 7.5 percent recently imposed by the Indonesian central bank.

“Once the new president is elected, they can have clearer business projection,” Anton Sitorus of JLL Indonesia told the Bangkok Post, adding that residential property remains a “popular investment vehicle for cash-rich Indonesians.”

Another analyst, senior associate director for research and advisory Arief Rahardjo of Cushman & Wakefield Indonesia, echoed the same sentiment in the office and commercial sectors: “Prospective buyers are in a wait-and-see mode, reducing demand in this quarter to the lowest in the past five years. But the market is expected to pick up again later this year when the elections are over,” he said.

The third Indonesian presidential elections, which will be held on 9 July, will name the successor of two-term President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in office.