Country Guides Country Guide: Bali

Date Published:

18/11/2009

Bali is routinely described as an island paradise, but that’s usually for a holiday. How about actually buying a place out there as a second home, or to retire to? Is it possible and do the figures stack up?

By Gordon Miller

Bali is an Indonesian island, one of several hundred that are strung out across the Indian Ocean, like a mirror image of a celestial constellation. Lying just eight degrees south of the equator, the 5,620 sq km tropical paradise is abundant with foliage and average annual temperatures hover around the 30 degrees Celsius mark – and rarely deviate on the needle. Bali is located approximately 600 miles from Jakarta, which is the capital of Indonesia. It takes around 16 hours to reach from the UK, flying with reputable airlines, such as Singapore Airlines. There is an international airport located at Denpasar, the island's capital.

Accurate and reliable reports on property prices in Bali are not easily come by. However, GlobalPropertyGuide.com notes house prices across Indonesia have increased by around 10 per cent per annum but inflation has risen even higher, leaving property owners worse off in real terms.

Property for sale on Bali ranges from apartments through to villas; prices start around US$200,000 (they are often quoted in Euros too) and keep on going into the millions, regardless of denomination. As in most places worldwide, certain areas command premiums and a one-bedroom apartment in, for example, Pattaya Beach Road, on the North East Coast, can be priced as much as a four-bedroom villa near Echo Beach in Canggu.