The Indonesian government revised the price mechanism for property that can be bought by expats under the "right-of-use" category. Through Agrarian and Spatial Planning Affairs/National Land Agency (BPN) Regulation No. 29/2016 on Procedures for the Granting, Relinquishment and Assignment of Ownership Rights over Residential Homes or Housing by Foreigners Resident in Indonesia, it changed a couple of the minimum prices set on property (divided by region and the type of property).

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More and more signs point toward a strengthening property sector in Indonesia. In the third quarter of 2016 the property sector has seen more activity, a trend that is expected to continue into the fourth quarter and in 2017. Stanley Ang, Chief Marketing Officer at urban development company Lippo Cikarang, said this development is partly supported by the government's tax amnesty program and the lower interest rate environment in Indonesia as well as Bank Indonesia's decision to ease the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio.

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Earlier this week the government of Indonesia released its 13th economic policy package. This 13th edition focuses on the reduction of bureaucracy (red tape) in a bid to boost the construction of low-cost housing for the poorer segments of Indonesian society. Currently, property developers are required to obtain 33 permits before they can start to build affordable housing for the low-income people of Indonesia. This results in a costly and time-consuming process.

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The government of Indonesia may succesfully curb the nation's housing backlog figure to 6.8 million units by 2019. Providing adequate housing for the poorer segments of Indonesian society is one of the key tasks of the Indonesian government (for example through its 'one million houses' [per year] program). In 2015 Indonesia's housing backlog declined by 16 percent (y/y) to 11.4 million units according to the data from Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS). With enough effort of the government and private sector the figure should continue to drop in the foreseeable future.

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Although the government of Indonesia recently decided to allow foreigners to buy landed houses and apartments in Indonesia (while setting a minimum value on property that foreigners are allowed to purchase), there are yet to surface reports of expats buying Indonesian property. There are several matters that can explain foreigners' lack of enthusiasm to invest in property in Indonesia. Indonesian property association Real Estate Indonesia (REI) has several proposals to make it more attractive for expats to buy real estate in Indonesia.

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Several Indonesian ceramic producers have reportedly stopped production as stocks of ceramics are piling up at their warehouses. Normally, in the good old days when there existed high demand for ceramic products (due to Indonesia's booming property sector), stocks of ceramics lasted for only two weeks. Now, however, amid sluggish growth of Indonesia's property sector, the existing stocks of ceramics are estimated to cover at least three months.

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By relaxing the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects to see House Ownership Credit (Kredit Pemilikan Rumah, abbreviated KPR) growth to accelerate by an additional 5 percent. Up to April 2016, KPR growth was recorded at 7.61 percent (y/y) only, down significantly from the years 2012-2013 when - amid the glory years of property development in Indonesia - KPR growth touched figures of between 30 - 49 percent (y/y). Back then concerns emerged whether Indonesia was about to experience a price bubble in the property sector.

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On 12 June 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 Indonesia's 2016 economic growth revisions, the property market, retail sector, Trans-Sumatra toll road, but also social matters such as child labor and human rights violations.

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Indonesia's cement sales rose 6.2 percent (y/y) to 5.1 million tons in May 2016, the highest monthly figure so far in 2016. As the property sector of Indonesia remains subdued amid sluggish demand and development, growth in cement sales is regarded to be the result of infrastructure development. Data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) show that Indonesia's cement sales total 24.1 million tons in the first five months of 2016, up 3.9 percent (y/y) from sales in the same period one year earlier.

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The government of Indonesia will soon unveil a new economic policy package, the 13th in the series of packages that have been released since September 2015 with as overall aim to boost Indonesia's economic growth. Indonesian Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution said the 13th edition, which is currently being discussed among government officials, will focus on residential property for low income families. However, he refrained from providing more details at this stage.

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According to data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), domestic cement sales have fallen 5.8 percent to 3.3 million tons in August 2013 (from the same month last year). Being an important indicator of economic expansion (as cement sales inform about the development of property and infrastructure projects in the country), these lower cement sales confirm the slowing pace of economic growth in Indonesia. Compared to July 2013, cement sales in Indonesia fell by a massive 32 percent.

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Cement sales in Indonesia grew by seven percent to 32.9 million tons in the period January to July 2013. This pace of growth is significantly lower compared to the double-digit cement growth rate last year and thus forms another sign of cooling economic growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy (cement sales are a good indicator to measure the state of economic growth of a country). A slowdown in domestic cement sales is likely to continue in the second half of 2013, partly due to a decline in infrastructure projects.

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Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) increased 3.98 points to close at 4,724.41 on the last trading day (19/07). During last week, the index rose a limited 1.97 percent amid the context of a weakening IDR rupiah (Indonesia's currency even fell below the psychological boundary of IDR 10,000 against the US dollar). The IHSG's performance last week was mainly supported by rising shares in the country's finance, property, construction and metal mining sectors, while the cement and plantation sectors were corrected.

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Starting from 1 September 2013, the minimum down payment for the purchase of a second house or apartment (bigger than 70 m²) in Indonesia will be raised to 40 percent. Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia) implements this new rule to avoid a possible credit bubble in Indonesia's property sector. The country's property sector has been booming in recent years, giving rise to many new property projects, soaring profits for property companies (as well as impressive stock performance) and significantly rising property prices.

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After finishing last week with three consecutive days of gains, Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) reached up to 4,633.11. However, its movement is still rather volatile. Property, finance and consumption stocks were sold by investors after seeing the benchmark interest rate raised by Bank Indonesia (by 50 bps to 6.50 percent) on Thursday (11/07), while metal stocks formed the main supporter of the index at the end of the week. Trading volume in the regular market hit 5.2 trillion and foreigners recorded net purchases of IDR 288 billion.

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In line with the general trend in the Asian region, Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) rose 0.63 percent to 4,633.11 on Friday (12/07). One of the sectoral indices that did not follow this trend was Indonesia's property sector, which fell 0.66 percent on Friday. Since early June (and in line with large capital outflows), Indonesian property shares have experienced a significant fall of about 20 percent. Moreover, Bank Indonesia's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by 50 bps to 6.50 percent will most likely add downward pressure on the sector.

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Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) took another large blow on Wednesday (03/07). The index fell 3.20 percent to 4,577.15 points as investors were worried after reading the revised outlook of the World Bank. The institution downgraded its forecast for economic growth in Indonesia in 2013 from 6.2 percent to 5.9 percent. Higher inflation, because of the recent subsidized fuel price hike, is expected to result in lower domestic consumption. The IDR rupiah posted a slight weakening to IDR 9,941.

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On Friday (14/06), the main stock index of Indonesia (IHSG) jumped 3.32 percent to 4,760.74 points as financial market participants were optimistic about the effects of the higher central bank interest rate that was announced the day before. Moreover, Indonesia's IHSG was supported by a green wave across Asian stock markets, which was partly due to a strong rebound in markets in the United States on Thursday (13/06). Stocks in Indonesia's banking and property sectors were the top-gainers on Friday's trading day.

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On the very last trading day of May (31/05), Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) closed at 5,068.63 points. During the month, the index showed a volatile performance as it reached its peak at 5,251.29 and its low at 4,907.59 points. Overall, the IHSG continued to rise in May despite various negative sentiments. Foreign investors recorded a net sell of IDR 7.9 trillion (USD $806.12 million). However, optimistic domestic investors kept Indonesia's index in the green zone.

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In the first five months of 2013, Indonesia’s main stock index (IHSG) rose 16.62 percent to a near record high level at 5,068.63 points on Friday (31/05/13). Initially, both analysts and investors were concerned that Indonesia would experience its traditional ‘May Cycle’, the term which refers to the usual fall of Indonesia’s index in the month of May. However, reality proved different as the index recorded a small gain of 7.71 points (0.15 percent) last month.

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