Jakarta is home to the most expensive apartments in the country.

High-end residences have sprung up in every corner of the city, offering world-class services that cater to the needs of Indonesian millionaires living in the capital.

Keraton Residences, located in the Plaza Indonesia complex is believed to be the most expensive apartment address in this city. Located near the capital’s famous landmark, Bundaran HI (Hotel Indonesia traffic circle), Central Jakarta, the apartment building is a luxurious living space in the heart of the city, where residents have the privilege of breathtaking 180-degree views of Jakarta’s cityscape.

The price of one unit is between US$2 million and $3 million, depending on size, which range from 400 to 500 square-meters. The building is equipped with top services and amenities, including two private lifts for each unit.

“We also have a 24-hour personal butler that can help you if you want, for example, porridge in the middle of the night,” Plaza Indonesia Realty general manager Dinna Muskita said.

Fancy entertaining: A dining room in an apartment at Regatta. Buyers can enjoy world class services and facilities in the apartments. (Courtesy of Regatta)
What makes Keraton ultra expensive compared to other similar condominium projects is partly due to the fact that its units come unfurnished.

Yet, Dinna is upbeat that this approach will attract certain customers who want a say in their home’s design.

“Based on my experience, expensive penthouses that have been bought always end up being redesigned to adjust to the taste and the needs of its buyers,” said the woman with decades of experience in the property industry.

So far, her theory has been proven right. From 54 units available, 90 percent of them have been sold.

These high-end apartments come in different sizes and with varying facilities, with the only common factor being similarities in price, which could make any ordinary person gasp upon hearing the figures.

Each unit is worth millions of dollars, with the most expensive believed to be carrying a price tag of $3 million, only slightly less than the current budget allocated by the city administration for social assistance funds.

It’s ironic to see that certain individuals can afford to pay a huge amount of money for just one apartment unit while almost half of Jakarta’s population must receive assistance for affordable health-care.

Bathing in beauty: A spacious bathroom in Raffles Residence apartments, which is part the Ciputra World superblock. (Courtesy of Raffles Residence)
But, let’s not forget that Jakarta is the capital of a country with big ironies in its economy. Even though Indonesia’s economic growth remains positive, bucking the global trend, the country has failed to close the widening gap between the poor and the rich.

Indonesia’s poverty rate remains high, with a recent survey from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showing that more than 10 percent of Indonesian citizens still live in poverty. Yet, at the same, Indonesia is declared the country with the fastest-growing number of millionaires.

A report published by Switzerland-based Julius Baer Group estimates that the number of individuals with assets totaling more than $1 million in Indonesia will triple by 2015 to more than 100,000 people. These rich individuals are estimated to have a combined wealth stock of up to $500 billion by then.

Looking at the wealth of these people, it is no wonder to see multimillion-dollar apartments sell like hotcakes in Jakarta, where more than 65 percent of the nation’s money circulates.

Real estate consultancy firm Jones Lang Lasalle says that despite their high prices, the average occupancy rate for high-end apartments remains high, standing between 70 and 75 percent.

“The units are selling fast because the supply is limited,” the head of research at Jones Lang Lasalle, Anton Sitorus, said, adding that the size of the market only accounted for less than 10 percent of the total space available.

The reason behind this is mostly because developers of these high-end condominium projects are offering the units in very limited numbers to meet their target buyers’ demand for exclusivity.

Apart from a limited number of units, these luxurious apartments are identified with good quality building materials, strategic location, world-class service and facilities, sizes that are not less than 200 square-meters and prices that are not less than Rp 30 million ($3,127) per square-meter, stated property consultancy Knight Frank.

Statistic-wise, the sales numbers are very encouraging, yet in reality, it is not as easy as it seems.

A number of property developers that have been interviewed by The Jakarta Post confessed that they have to devise specific marketing strategies to win the consumers’ hearts in this much segmented market.

Restful room: Raffles Residence apartments are outfitted with top-quality furniture and state-of-the-art equipment. (Courtesy of Raffles Residence)
The similar approach carried out by these developers mostly involves network marketing.

They sell their products only for certain individuals, usually people within their own networks.

Ciputra general marketing manager Kenny Seraphine, who is in charge of Raffles Residence Jakarta, discloses that most of their clients are within the inner circle of the Ciputra dynasty.

The ongoing Raffles Residence project is located within the Ciputra World superblock. It consists of 88 units of apartments with an average size of 400 square-meters per unit and each unit is priced at $2 million. For that price, units are outfitted with top-quality furniture and state-of-the-art equipment, even housemaids are given their own elevators. The current take-up rate for the project is at 40 percent.

“Raffles’ primary buyers are people who are well-acquainted with Ciputra and from them we try to explore their extended friends and make them our secondary buyers,” Kenny said.

In relation to their target market, Keraton goes even more extreme as they do not only have a list of their potential buyers, but they also seek recommendations about their credibility.

“I am also responsible for making existing owners feel comfortable,” Dinna said of her customers.

In general, these posh condominium projects require very personal marketing approaches, in which developers meet their potential buyers one-on-one.

Sometimes, certain developers will also work together with top brands that are closely associated with opulence.

Regatta marketing manager David Lelij, who supervises luxury apartments in North Jakarta, said his company usually holds gatherings cosponsored by exclusive brands like BMW or Mercedes, to get new clients.

David explains that such events help the company market their apartment project, which has been associated with a very specific market due to its unique seaside location.

“The buyers have to be rich people who love the sea,” he said.

In relation to buyers, who are these super rich people anyway? Knight Frank senior associate director Fakky Hidayat profiles these rich clients that include businessmen and CEOs or maybe individual investors who take advantage of Indonesia’s good investment climate.

Developers refused to give names because they are bound by confidentiality agreements with their clients.

Yet, Kenny of Raffles hinted that their targeted buyers included prominent businessmen or politicians, since having them as clients would likely raise property value.

“This is what happened with Pondok Indah property, whose value increased with businessmen Ciputra and the late Sudwikatmono living in the area,” he explained.

Furthermore, Kenny categorizes his potential buyers into two groups.

The first group includes old couples who want to leave their solitary life in huge houses after their children leave to study abroad.

The second group is those from the younger generation who are used to easy living.

“These are the kind of people who don’t want to be bothered with broken AC or faucets. They just make a service call and the problems are fixed,” he said.

The five-star hotel service offered by apartments’ operators seems to be the best solution for these affluent people.

Good and high quality services are a must for these kinds of people. They also want their privacy to be respected and are willing to pay a lot of money for that to happen. But, we are talking about consumers who consider money a non-issue.

“With their money, they can even go to the moon,” Kenny remarked.

How much is $2 million is worth

• is equal to the amount needed to renovate 98 schools in Jakarta with an estimated budget for each school of Rp 196 million (US$20,432).

• is two-thirds of Jakarta’s social assistance funds, which currently stands at Rp 30 billion.