Is Canggu worth investing in?

I moved to Canggu in 2004.  I stayed in a small villa complex in Padang Linjong.  In those days there wasn’t even a warung in the street, and the only place where we could find anything was down at Echo Beach, which in those days was indeed “far away in time.”

I later moved to a place along the main road of Batu Bolong for a few years and was offered to rent a plot of 1,000-square metres with a house for 30-million a year, if I paid 10-years in advance.  I didn’t do the deal.  Today a small corner of that place with a 2-storey building rents for between 200-300-million a year.

 What went wrong?

I mean developments yes, but today there are 2-300-restaurants in the area, tons of entertainment spots, and hundreds and hundreds of villas.  A few larger resorts have also opened up; first was LV8, then COMO and now a massive development set to be an Intercon when completed.  Life is on from early (fairly early) breakfasts to late at night, it never seems to end. 

So, the place has changed; from a time when it was just a few crazy surfers to today and the most popular hipster, digital nomad location on planet earth.

Where will it go? 

We thought it had reached a peak in 2014, but it’s still going, and the culture it created is spreading inland, further west, and into other areas such as the Bukit and Jimbaran.

Is this good for Bali? 

Personally I believe so. There are elements and incidents that aren’t so good, but in general this market wants what’s good for it, the locals and the island. 

The challenge for us as real estate agents and consultants is that it’s difficult to measure the volume of visitors, room rates, and per person spending in restaurants etc. 

What does an average hipster spend during a stay?  Where is the market going? Will it continue?  What’s going to happen?

For an investor it’s hard to decided with little facts. It’s best is to see and feel Canggu and its vibe.  We do see more and more investors looking in the area, and it continues further up the coast in Tabanan, where soon MNC will launch a new Tanah Lot project.  Ciputra is already there and it’s rumored one more large plot in Kedunggu will soon see some serious developments as well.

We, at Seven Stones Indonesia certainly believe in Canggu, Pererenan, Seseh and further up the west coast. Give us a call or send us an email if you want to have a chat about it if you’re either considering investing, or selling.