Remote work and new visas have made it easier than ever to buy a home in Bali; if you can find land and beat out the other expats who all want in
Sophia Ankel, Allana Akhtar
August 25, 2022 2:51 PM
Expat demand for homes in Bali, Indonesia, is spiking.
The spike is driven by the rise of remote work, a new second-home visa, and skyrocketing rents.
"The last 18 months I've never seen it been busier in Bali," said Nathan Ryan, the founder of Bali Realty.
After living in Hong Kong for the past 34 years, British businessman Steve Moore was looking for a new place to spend his semi-retirement days.
He already owned properties in the UK and on the Thai island of Phuket, as well as in Hong Kong, where his fashion-garment trading business is based. But with Hong Kong in a state of ongoing, COVID-related lockdowns, he was looking elsewhere and Bali was always on the back of his mind.
"I felt that it was the right time to have a secondary residence, which I could use on a semi-permanent basis at any time," Moore told Insider. "I'm probably going to spend half the year there in Bali, and the rest of the time on business trips and in Hong Kong."
The exterior of the house that Steve Moore bought.
After looking at dozens of properties on the island in person, Moore ended up shelling out 10 billion Indonesian Rupiah, or $674,022, on a two-story house in Tumbak Bayuh.
The house, with its modern design, slate color scheme, and full-length sliding doors, is a far cry from the typical Balinese villa.
"I was there for a period of two weeks and I frankly wasn't expecting to find something immediately," Moore said. "On my last trip out in April, I was just looking around in Bali for the right kind of property to buy, and I was fortunate enough to find it." 
The interior of the house that Steve Moore bought.
A recovering economy
Moore is far from the only expat to snap up property on the Indonesian island of Bali as borders reopen and the world takes on more of its pre-pandemic rhythms.
Long an international tourism destination drawing visitors with its beaches and vibrant nightlife, Bali is rapidly becoming a hot sellers' market thanks to the pandemic, changes in working styles, and a new second-home visa scheme.
Bali welcomed 371,504 foreign visitors in the first half of 2022, per the Central Statistics Bureau of Bali. In contrast, there were only 51 foreign visitors for the whole of 2021. And as life starts to go back to pre-pandemic normal, the island's real estate scene is heating up.
Buyer interest has spiked from people in Russia and Ukraine in particular, Ryan said: "That market was not super strong before, but there's been a tenfold increase in buyer interest from those two particular markets."
"For the first time in my career doing real estate in Bali, the market has shifted into a seller's market. Many can't find what they are looking for anymore, so a lot ends up in building projects," Hirte told Insider.
Frster said many people are looking to move to Bali because of the island's affordability: "Just by looking at the cost of living, here everyone can afford to have a nanny, to have cleaners, to have a private chef, and basically live a life that wouldn't be possible with the same budget in any major city in the world."
There's also the matter of visas: In an effort to entice more people to come to the country, Indonesia introduced a second-home visa scheme in June. The visa is aimed at foreign retirees who want to stay for the long-term but might not qualify for other residence permits. Although unconfirmed, the country is also toying with the idea of a five-year digital nomad visa, Sandiaga Uno, the minister of tourism, told Bloomberg in June.
Remote working, second homes, and rising rental prices
Many of the expats house hunting in Bali are looking to take advantage of remote-work opportunities and they're bringing their families along, Ryan said.
"We get buyers sometimes where one of the partners might need to go back to Singapore or Hong Kong once a week or a month to their corporate office, but spend the rest of the time here," Ryan said.
Others, Frster said, want an easy-living landing pad for a couple of months at a time: "Some of our clients don't want to rent a home. They want it maintained and ready when they arrive, so they can just use it whenever they're here."
Rising prices and shorter leases in the island's rental industry have also resulted in housing demand from those who originally intended to rent or had previously been renting, Hirte said.
Frster pointed to the example of a Swedish couple from Los Angeles who was looking to move to Bali.The couple's son had a rare medical condition, so their move to the island came with a set of requirements, including proximity to good hospitals and to the Green School, a prestigious private kindergarten in Ubud. After calculating the cost of renting a property, the couple decide to buy a home instead, and not just any home: They settled on a million-dollar property.
That, Frster said, "is something that I think wouldn't have happened before the pandemic."
A boost in supply
The supply of houses in Bali has been trying to catch up with the demand.
"The supply index for Bali residences in the third quarter of 2021 is increasing by about 40.8% year-on-year, which could elevate the supply situation in view of the better residential buying momentum," Victoria Garrett, the head of residential for Knight Frank Asia Pacific, told Insider, citing data from Indonesian real-estate platform Rumah.com.
"I was surprised myself. Probably more villas have been built in the past two years than within those three or four years before the pandemic," Frster said.
Many of these homes are being sold off-plan, which is how Atiba Belgrave and his girlfriend Ilse De Groot bought their first Bali house. 
Atiba Belgrave and Ilse De Groot on the plot of land before the construction of their house started
In 2018, the couple quit their corporate jobs in the Netherlands to travel full time. They've been jetting in and out of Bali on trips around the world ever since, but even living the dream can get tiring.
"We got a little bit tired of finding a new place every two or three months," Belgrave told Insider. "We always tried to rent on the longer term but it's pretty hard, especially in the area around Canggu, to find a good, affordable, rental place now. Prices are rising a lot."
Their renting criteria was simple: They wanted a private house or villa with an outdoor garden and pool. For four years, they managed to stay within their monthly rental budget of 14 million to 18 million Indonesian Rupiah, De Groot said until now.
Atiba Belgrave and Ilse De Groot in front of their off-plan property as it's being constructed.
Ever since Bali's borders reopened, rental prices have surged. Newly built villas now go for up to 30 million Indonesian Rupiah per month, Belgrave said.
"These days it's also not always possible to rent for a month, since the owners like to rent it out for a shorter term because then they earn more money with it," he said. In the end, it made more sense to buy a home of their own. They spent 2.8 billion Indonesian Rupiah on a two-bedroom, loft-style house with an open-concept design. Situated in an 11-villa development in a small village called Cepaka, the property overlooks lush rice fields and is 10 minutes from the beach.
The exterior of another house in the same off-plan development where Belgrave and De Groot bought their home.
The house is expected to be delivered in move-in condition by the end of the year, Belgrave said. In the meantime, the couple is living in a house they rent from a Canadian couple but they can't wait to move in.
"Our idea is that the sooner we have the keys of the house, the sooner we can live in it and the sooner that we save on rent," De Groot said. "For us, it was very convenient to invest in something that had a plan and was already being built. The house we bought was the first house we saw and we fell in love at first sight."
Sophia Ankel,Allana Akhtar
Sanur Real Estate Hottest Market In Bali, Asia
G20 Conference Godsend in Nov.
In a few months we will have leaders of the greatest twenty
nations in the world come to Bali with tens of thousands of entourages, press
etc.
Every hour on CNN the world will catch views of Bali on CNN, BBC, and most major international and local Networks.
This will be the best publicity for Bali so far this Century.
“Best publicity for Bali so far this Century”
Although were not expecting a huge number of rentals from the G 20 I do expect that they will fill up all the hotels in Nusa Dua and Southern Bali. That will push potential renters from those hotels into our areas.
Sanur Real Estate - Hottest in History:
Anybody that has ever attended one of my seminars, listened to my radio program or read my blogs is well aware that I have been saying “Bali real estate is demand is directly proportional to Bali tourist demands”.
“Bali real estate is demand is directly propotional to Bali Tourist Demand"
I have also been predicting that Sanur would be the place that a percentage of 25% of the population of the world that are Baby Boomers would live.
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Right now, we only have one villa for rent in the whole of the Golden Villa complex.
The rest are owned or occupied full time by Baby boomers from around the world.
Sanur
designated as Special Economic Zone.
Just a little over a week ago Pres. Jokowi the President of Indonesia announced here live that over 40 Hectares of land including the Grand Bali Beach Hotel will be designated as a Special Economic Zone
What is really exciting is that this special economic zone is within walking distance of our three Bali Luxury Villas complexes
It will be mostly used for medical tourism, primarily for the elderly from around the world.
Boomers from around the world will come here and be
treated for everything from a facelift to cancer treatment at a fraction of the cost in their country.
The famous Mayo Clinic has decided to be part of this complex.
Everybody wondered if it would really happen.
If you drive by there right now you will see buildings going up like crazy.
I am sure they want to show this economic miracle to G 20 leaders and associates when they come here.
Largest Real Estate Boom in Sanur History:
I have been predicting for years that there would be a real estate boom in Sanur from Baby Boomer Demand.
It is happening right now.
I have never seen more demand for Sanur Villas, Homes and even million-dollar 100-million-dollar hotels than in my 23 years living here.
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For example, yesterday I had a call from one contact who has an owner from Jakarta looking for a hundred million dollar plus hotel in Sanur.
Later that day I had another contact call me and
tell me that he would like to share with me a development plan that is taking
place on the Southern Beach of Sanur which will include hundreds of beachside expensive
villas and a first-class marina. .jpg)
Boomers Moving from Crazy, Gridlocked
Southwestern Areas
Then just last few days ago
during a private Bali Hai cruise one person after another told me that they
want to move away from Canggu, Kerobokan and even Seminyak because it has just
gotten crazy over there with grid lock traffic and a dramatic rise in crime.
Some of our Villa owners are reporting extraordinary rental prices right now for long-term rentals.
I am receiving one or two requests every week for long-term rental villas.
Couple with that there has been a large number of improvements in Sanur restaurants, grocery marts etc. and Sanur is the place to retire as I predicted.
I personally along with a bunch of seniors have been playing tennis twice a week at the new first class Liga Club which has a gym, six tennis courts, Pool, and other facilities.
Summary- 2022-2025 Hottest Rental and Sales Market in History
We Hope that you enjoyed this first-half update and join me in being enthusiastic about Bali’s future, especially Sanur.
There is no question in my mind that Bali will continue to be one of the most sought-after destinations in the world.
If you read TripAdvisor’s report in January of this year, we are ranked fourth.
I believe we will move up in
rankings this year because if you look at our competition, London which is suffering
through drought and 40 C Temperatures and Cancun which is almost shut down
right now due to Covid-19 we certainly look better.
I will go on out on a limb with a Nostradamus Moment and Predict that for the next 2-5 years Sanur will be one of the top three or five hottest real estate markets of Bali, Asia and even the world as it returns to the 2014 prices for real estate.
Very sincerely.
Lawrence B. M. B.
President Director
PT. Bali Affordable Lifestyles International. Since 2004
DBA Best Bali Real Estate & PT. Bali Luxury Villas
We have thousands of satisfied guests and clients worldwide.
Contact Us:
My name is Lawrence.
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| Noatrais Aziah & Husband Lawrence |
I am the President, Owner of 18 Year old PT. B.A.L.I., who manage and operate award winning PT. Bali Luxury Villas & Best Bali Real Estate
My
wife and Partner Azizah who is a Licensed Bali Notaris along with our
70 + Loyal Professional staff will do buisness with us that is
"Far better than you expected"
Check out our selection of Best Bali Properties at our Best Bali Real Estate Web Site
For the best posssible deals and advice contact me direct in English by Tel or Whatsapp at +62-8123814014
For Bahasia Indonesia or English Contact our office at +62-361-284069.
For free legal consultation regarding Bali Real Estate, Establishing Bali Companies and other Notorial Work Contact Azizah at +62 811-3864-993
You may also email us at info@bestbalirealestate.com
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