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Bank Permata, an Indonesian lender controlled by Astra International and Standard Chartered Bank, said its mortgage loan is forecast to grow 20 percent this year, thanks to growing demand by Indonesian consumers. 

“The housing loans did not show any decline or impact from inflation at all,” said Lauren Sulistiawati, director of retail banking at Bank Permata in Jakarta when introducing a promotion program called “KPR Keluarga” (Familiy housing loan).  

Bank Permata expects to lend Rp 5 trillion for its housing loans this year. She did not provide any comparative figures for last year’s portfolio. Housing loans contributed about 10 percent of the lender’s total corporate revenue last year,  she said. 

A recent move by Bank Indonesia to raise its benchmark rate would not affect housing demand. The lender will not raise the rate it charges on housing loans consumers, which currently ranges between 8.75 percent and 9.25 percent, she said.  

“We still do not need to increase KPR interest. However, if the change is above 50 basis points, we might need to adjust later,” said Lauren. 

Bank Permata’s main housing loans customers are middle-upper class, who seek houses at a cost of above Rp 200 million.  

Rosalia Abadi, head of mortage at Bank Permata said that 50 percent of KPR customers are located in Jakarta, while the rest spread within urban cities like Surabaya, Medan and Bandung. 

Bank Permata works with 200 developers nationwide. Areas in the Greater Jakarta area such as Tangerang and Bekasi have a lot of potential, Rosalia said. 

Arief Rahardjo, head of research and advisory at real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield in Jakarta said Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) and Tangerang as two popular locations. “The toll road which connects Bintaro to BSD has added the value of that surrounding area,” he said.