A Short Lament About Land and Money
Stuart Nettle April 27, 2010
File this one under: 'Globalisation is Great!'
There's big news in my little household - my partner and I are taking the plunge. Tired of living in rental sin, and fed up with not being able to contribute worthwhile conversation at dinner parties we've decided to do something about it. That's right, we're buying into the property market.
Or at least we're trying to...
Armed with a bit of coin and the backing of the banks we've set our upper limit and headed off to market. But on a few separate occasions we've been beaten to the punch, apparently by buyers who are loaning money from overseas for as little as 1%. Young local buyers just don't stand much of a chance against interest rates like that so we've had to adjust our expectations downwards. And while Asian economies are booming the trend of overseas money buying Australian land looks set to increase.
Meanwhile...
The Indonesian government recently announced that a law banning foreigners from owning Indonesian land will be overturned in June. As a result Bali-based real estate agents are expecting a surge in housing demand, especially in Bali's south and the Bukit Peninsula. The demand will likely be fed by Australian money, which should be a boon to the local economy but will also drive real estate prices up and make it even harder for locals to own land.
While last year...
Local Balinese surfer Ketut Yoga Semadhi, more commonly known as Mega, was asked in an interview with Surfline how the Bukit Peninsula has changed? "It's no good" said Mega. "It's so different... It used to be mellow with just the warungs. But now so many people come here. There's too much concrete. No more jungle."
Come June and the Balinese, including Mega, can expect to see even less jungle and even more development. Individual land-owners will do well from subdividing their land, while real estate affordability will move yet further from the average Balinese wage earner.
So file this under: 'Globalisation is Great!'
Or, alternatively: 'We're All In This Together'
Or how about: 'The Price of Progress'? //STUART NETTLE
(Attached photograph of Dreamland in Bali by Matt Mackay)
Comments
Mavis, the bingo-addicted, blue-rinser downstairs in my Bondi hovel often talks about the old days of Scum Valley. 'Paddocks for miles and miles' she says before all us surfies came along.
Wonder if old Made will say the same?
Welcome to Bondi on the Bukit.
i don't give a flying f..k about you're entry into the property market! infact this website over the past few months has turned to shit! fuckin over it! you bunch of sold out sluts! I could not even be bothered commenting on your little bali expose! farrrk what did you cunts think was going to happen? Fuck this i'm going to get a home loan with suncorp, then i'm going on a crowd free surfari with surf travel to bali, where i'll pick up my avis hire car , the whole time i'll be kitted out in ripcurl, or blliabong, i'll look just like kelly fanning.
woah, hope you kept your receipt Timberboy! you'll need that to get your refund.
stay off the blue pills timberboy, ya wanker
Yep globalisation is real neat. I am all for growth, economic, housing, industrial, bigger sewrage outlets, more seaside development growth growth growth I say. Let's have more kiddies, buy bigger cars, hit the local more often and argue that we are bigger locals, get bigger mortgages, borrow more, demand higher wages, become more addicted to working, chop down more trees, you fuckin beauty its all in the name of growth.
I think our dimwitted politicians have finally gotten to me. Another steak on the barbie, more piss, another loan, need to work Monday growth growth growth.
Anyone prepared to jump ship to the other side? Na, didn't think so ...
'the only thing worse than globalizing is not globalizing'
which is another way of saying 'we have no control over the process.' take a look people, there's no-one at the wheel.
nice article
Wow. I think this is bad news for the Balinese. It's a hard enough pill to swallow when your dealing with this "foreign ownership" thing at an auction here in Australia...and that's when most of us have got a stable job earning good money in a stable, prosperous country. The majority of Balinese won't stand a chance against foreign investors. Combine this with a corrupt Indonesian Government that will inevitably approve any building application and the place will go downhill real quick. Bali has been heralded as the new "off season Hawaii" in the surf media and it won't take long for the "big three" surf companies to buy up big on the Bukit peninsula and turn that strip into an unaffordable haven for priviledged surf stars. I'm more of a capitalist than a socialist - don't get me wrong - but I think this is going to hurt the Balinese big time.
I wonder how much the Bali land prices will increase? A quick scan of some of the property websites shows that land prices on the Bukit are currently between 700,000 and 3,200,000 per square metre (AUD$80 to $370/sqm).
So, for an average block of land at 1,000sqm, this comes in at $80,000 - $370,000 (the higher prices usually having an ocean view). Certainly not cheap as it is - I don't know how the locals could afford this at current prices, let alone if they're about to take a hike.
Swellnet is great.
Ive been on about this for ages now. God i hate westeners who build resorts in Bali and compete with the local people. live there if u must, but leave the tourism to the Balinese,, Rich white males are the biggest Problem in the world today.....Blo ins,, ripcurlbillabongquiksilver have ruined our thing, pushing the sizzel to the world. when in Bali, please only do business with local people. thanks
when surfing, i like to rundown rich western resort owners who get in my way, then i'l go mad at them for having the ordassity to be there,,
Kaja,while your runnin people over, run over the Balo,s that took the money and ran.Greed is not the sole domain of rich white males.
Don't forget the rich Muslims. they are the ones ruining Bali for the rest of the world! Thermalben I think you will be lucky to get a property with 1,000m2 in bali as they are sold in 1 ara lots.
stuz wrote "Swellnet is great."
ooh no ! its run by google now
where is good ol' swellnet ?
what happened to my russian compatriot alex zadnik ?
*sigh* all this talk of foreign buyers here, and ruined/ crowded breaks there. looks like ill never own a house or get a wave at this rate! but what if.......ALL the surfers in the world put money into a giant spaceship to explore waves on other far of planets!!!!! our problems would be solved!!!!! we could create a surfers paradise!!!( a real one)