The order of things
The sequence most often described for a foreign buyer has five stages. Select a property and a structure that is eligible for the title you intend to hold, whether Hak Sewa (a lease), Hak Pakai (a right of use) or HGB (a right to build) owned by a PT PMA. Appoint a PPAT or notary of your own, independent of the seller, to examine title and zoning. Agree and sign the PPJB, a preliminary agreement of sale, in front of the notary. Pay, often in stages against milestones where the home is still being built. Last comes the final deed, signed in front of the PPAT, either the AJB (the sale deed) or the deed granting the HGB or Hak Pakai, in person or under a power of attorney.
Two points follow from that order. The title question is settled before the house is chosen, because it decides which homes are open to you and how the deed is drawn. And the checking is done by professionals who act for you, appointed independently of the seller and of anyone introducing the property.
The market at this level
The island-wide sold data puts the US$500,000 threshold in context. REID data, as reported in August 2026, recorded 4,220 villa sales in the 12 months to the first half of 2026, at a median sold price of IDR 5.27 billion, about US$316,000. Leasehold made up 86.5 per cent of those sales and the average time on market was 256 days. Five-bedroom villas were 7.6 per cent of sales and six-bedroom villas 2 per cent. US$500,000 is roughly IDR 8.8 billion at the rate of about IDR 17,600 recorded on 8 September 2026, so a purchase at this level sits in a thin part of the market, and no sold-price data for that segment alone was found.
Asking prices at the top deserve caution. One index of 294 verified listings put the median asking price of its top tier at US$1.367 million, using asking prices gathered in May 2026 for an index labelled Q3 2026, and noted that a meaningful share of ultra-prime listings never trades at the quoted figure. Portal pages sampled in October 2026 showed the same top-end property listed by several agents, in one case about nine times, and some prices that were impossible for the land size. The highest number on a portal is a weak guide to value.
Viewing and shortlisting
Much of the stock at this level is never advertised. We offer private access to homes that are not publicly listed, and we arrange and accompany viewings, which matters when a buyer has days on the island rather than weeks.
On a viewing, finishes are the least informative thing in the room. One Bali developer, publishing in June 2026, defined the top tier by four things taken together. Correctly zoned land in a prime area. Compliance, meaning a valid PBG, SLF and environmental approval (AMDAL or UKL-UPL). Build quality engineered for humidity, UV, rain, soils and seismic activity. And professional operations. On the Bukit clifftops, research dated July 2025 adds view orientation, the width of cliff frontage and road access as the things that move value most.
Settling the title
Hak Milik is closed to foreigners. The bar is set by Article 21 of the UUPA, Indonesia’s agrarian statute, and it applies equally to a PT PMA. A nominee arrangement, in which a citizen is registered as owner on behalf of a foreign beneficiary, is contrary to Article 26(2) as well as Article 21. The Supreme Court, in SEMA No. 10 of 2020, has told courts to treat such agreements as void. In 2026 the province went further, with Bali’s Perda 4/2026 expressly banning nominee transfers of land.
Hak Pakai is open to a foreign individual. Under Kepmen ATR/BPN 1241/SK-HK.02/IX/2022, signed 12 September 2022, the minimum price for a landed house held this way in Bali is Rp 5 billion, with one plot per person or family and a maximum of 2,000 square metres. Reporting differs on eligibility. An older source says a KITAS or KITAP is required, while 2023 reporting of the PP 18/2021 regime says a passport and visa or residence permit suffice. Your PPAT should confirm which applies to you.
A PT PMA, which is an Indonesian company with foreign investment, may take HGB or Hak Pakai, and that includes land whose Hak Milik is converted when the seller sells. Permen Investasi dan Hilirisasi/Kepala BKPM 5/2025, in force from 2 October 2025, cut the minimum paid-up capital reported for a PT PMA to Rp 2.5 billion. Hak Sewa is a private, notarised lease that is not registered at BPN. The guide to ownership structures sets out each option in full.
Contracts, deeds and signing
Only a PPAT may prepare and authenticate the deed when a registered land right is sold or mortgaged, which covers the AJB and the deeds that grant or extend HGB and Hak Pakai. A Notaris prepares the PPJB, any power of attorney and the deeds that incorporate a PT PMA. The two roles are separate, though often held by the same person.
Before the AJB is drawn up, the PPAT compares the certificate with the land office’s records at BPN, looks for liens, mortgages and disputes on the parcel, confirms the seller is legally able to sell and confirms the zoning status. The original certificate is required from the seller. A lease is different. The lessee’s only protection is the lease deed itself, prepared by a notary, and it appears on no land certificate.
Escrow is a negotiated practice in Bali rather than a statutory requirement, so its use and terms are for the lawyers to agree.
Taxes and fees
BPHTB, the buyer’s acquisition duty, is set by each regional regulation at a maximum of 5 per cent under UU 1/2022. The non-taxable allowance is at least Rp 80 million for a first acquisition in a region, which at these prices is immaterial, and NJOP is used where the stated price is unknown or lower. Badung’s own rate was not found in the research behind this guide. A lease attracts no BPHTB, since no registered right changes hands.
The seller pays a final income tax of 2.5 per cent of the gross transfer value under PP 34/2016. The PPAT’s fee may not exceed 0.25 per cent of the deed price above Rp 2.5 billion, under Permen ATR/Kepala BPN 33/2021. For notarial deeds such as the PPJB, the fee above Rp 1 billion is agreed between the parties but capped at 1 per cent under UU 30/2004, Pasal 36, as amended by UU 2/2014.
A new home bought from a VAT-registered developer adds PPN. Below Rp 30 billion the effective rate is 11 per cent under PMK 131/2024 and PMK 11/2025. At Rp 30 billion or more, about US$1.7 million at the September 2026 rate, the full 12 per cent applies, together with PPnBM at 20 per cent under PMK 15/2023 as amended by PMK 96/2023. PPh 22 at 1 per cent, collected by designated corporate sellers, applies to houses above Rp 30 billion or with 400 square metres of building area under PMK 92/PMK.03/2019, though whether that rule has since been consolidated was not checked. Whether PPnBM reaches a private resale was not researched. The rate of PBB, which is levied each year on the land and the building, has a ceiling of 0.5 per cent, with the detail set by each regency.
Timeline and handover
No sourced figure exists for the time from agreed price to signed deed, and the research gives no reliable figure for establishing a PT PMA, so ask your notary for both at the outset. Two timings are documented. If the home will be let, the licensing chain takes somewhere between six and twelve months, by the reported estimate. A home bought before completion is commonly marketed at 10 to 12 months of construction for smaller projects and up to 18 to 24 months for larger ones, as developers report it.
Handover follows the deed. Older paper certificates remain valid, though a transaction can trigger conversion to an electronic certificate. Management, maintenance and rental after purchase can be arranged through our partners.