Bali is an ever-emerging market for property and real estate, since the day people like Walter Spies, Vicky Baum and Colin McPhee bought or rented a piece of real estate in this island.
Bali’s nature, exoticism (even to me, Hinduism still offers an unfathomable aura of mystery) and culture, have magnetized tourists and expats alike, and always will. In recent years, with more opportunities open up, the thinning of boundaries between nations and abundant “work from home” opportunities, Bali has seen more ex-pats flooding in than ever.
The Problems
The demand for residential places increased as a result. Rules are made to accommodate this spurt of growth, while others are broken. Wealthy Indonesians from Jakarta and other big cities like Surabaya and Bandung responded to the increase of visitors each year. New hotels are sprouting, literally overnight, like mushrooms in Bali. And there are more to come. Business partnerships were formed, overseas money flowed in, lawsuits filed and I don’t know what else.
This is quite a challenge for Bali, which naturally is a small island with an even smaller part of the desirable area, with Badung regency taking the lion’s share of it. Concerns were raised. Susi Johnston for example has made a very popular fan page entitled How Much is Too Much just to raise awareness of this seemingly uncontrollable development of hotels and the practices of the developers (so similar to each other as if on cue) of giving a little or no regards toward the environmental issue.
To make matters worse in a point, by prohibiting tall buildings, the local wisdom or kearifan lokal seems to promote the acquisition of massive size of the land plot. This is a setback no one expected, not even the late great Ida Bagus Mantra himself, the wisest governor Bali ever saw, who first codified it in order to respect the sacredness of Pura. This is a loop often utilized and exploited by irresponsible parties to reap profits.
Yes, we all want to make a profit, but surely not at the expense of the island and its future well-being. The solution for all of this is to go back to common sense. The massive sprawl of luxury hotels in every kilometer is not common sense.
However, despite the massive land takeovers conducted by hotel shareholders and developers, the sale and rent of private property e.g. villa and house–or land upon which they will be built–still dominate the property market in Bali.
“How much land do I need for my Bali home?” This question is an important matter in the long run because it’s based on modesty, common sense and it definitely shows responsibility on your part. Like anything else, buying something just because you can, only serves nothing else but inflates your ego. And this is not something Bali could survive from. Paraphrasing Gandhi: “Bali has enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.
Meanwhile, real estate prices keep increasing. As varied as it may– depends on the location–the price is still going one way: up. This could serve as a buffer, to slow down the rates of land conversion from agricultural to residential. However, it creates another problem. Everyone wants their fair share of that cake: a promise of quick money, instant wealth and God knows what else.
Just to follow my curiosity, I compared the price of property in Bali with those in major cities in the world.
In this case I picked New York, Upper East Side; France, Paris, Île-de-France; Italy, Milan and Australia, Sydney.
I know, I know. Others will argue that this comparison is cheeky (place randomly picked, unbalanced etc), but since it serves no other purpose than to fulfill my curiosity and not by any means a thorough comparative study, hold your horses, everyone!
Addressing The Problem
Opinions torn in two sides. Those who’ve spent decades in Bali missed the old days (go back in time or maintain status quo), while those who came later, are trying their best to keep up (to develop it further). At this point, everywhere it turns, Bali stares at immediate danger. It is as if impending doom awaits in every corner: economic imbalance, environmental issues, safety and traffic-related ‘disasters’ etc. However, it's a consequence one should expect from a place that relies heavily on tourism. It's the honey, money, and poison all at once.
The challenge would be to harness all those demands into something constructive and beneficial to the island and to its people. This is the chance to give back to the island, to its culture, to its gods in equal manners, especially considering how this place benefits us, body and soul. There’s no other way. This counts for the locals too, Balinese in particular and Indonesians in general, as they’re part of the interconnected links that both sustain and live off Bali.
Principles-based on local wisdom, common sense and mutual respect should be reinforced. The local government, who many believe is the biggest part of the problem, should keep transparency above all else in every deal concerning these matters.
Only then we will see the Bali we all love is assured of its future. Only then the question I use as the title of this piece will have a decent answer, the same answer people I mentioned earlier would’ve said: “Why not?”
