Office
Some companies are more optimistic about facing the effects of the pandemic, even though uncertainty persists. Enquiries for office space began to increase at the end of 2021. This is seen as a positive sign that businesses needing office space are gradually starting to recover. However, the market is not expected to fully recover in the short term, as there is still remains a lot of unabsorbed space, plus a huge additional supply in the coming years.
Apartment
The recovery process continued this quarter. More units were completed this quarter, and the number has exceeded our predictions for the year 2020. Sales performance has been going better too, and has succeeded in rising above the lowest point of the year. Asking prices have started to increase, although just slightly. We hope that the pandemic remains controllable, and this recovery process continues into next year. However, buyers may have to spend more to afford a unit next year, due to the VAT rate increase to 11% and some developers have decided to increase their asking price too.
Retail
Some malls have replaced major tenants, such as supermarkets and department stores, which closed due to the impacts of the pandemic. Other than that, the number of visitors to malls after they reopened has sparked the confidence of landlords. Population size is a factor in the survival of retail business. With that in mind, some foreign retailers still see Indonesia as a potential market for expansion.
Hotel
2021 has been a roller coaster year for the hotel industry in Jakarta. Conditions at the beginning of the year looked promising but, due to an increase in Covid cases, government finally had to implement a strict PPKM (public activity restrictions) in July. As a result, the performance of hotels declined drastically. As conditions improved, government began to loosen the PPKM and activities resumed but, at the end of the year, a new variant emerged which might be another stumbling block for the hotel industry.
