Bali prices are quoted in at least four different units, and comparing two listings usually means converting between them first. This guide explains the units, the three adjustments that make prices comparable, and why the number a seller quotes and the number the tax office uses are never the same.
The four units, and how to convert
| Total price, USD | How villas are quoted to foreign buyers. Says nothing about whether it is expensive |
|---|---|
| Price per are | One are = 100 m². The standard land unit on Bali and the one local sellers think in |
| Price per m² of land | The same figure ÷ 100. Useful for comparing against other markets |
| Price per m² built | Relevant for the house, not the land. On a small plot with a large house, this is the number that matters |
Every listing in this catalogue shows the total price and computes price per m² of land automatically, so you are never converting by hand. Land area is stated in both ares and square metres for the same reason.
The three adjustments that make prices comparable
1. Term — the one people skip
A freehold price and a leasehold price are not on the same scale. A leasehold is a term, and the term runs down. The conversion is cost per year of ownership: price ÷ years remaining.
Run two listings through it and the picture often inverts. A $385,000 leasehold with 17 years left costs about $22,600 per year of ownership. A $250,000 leasehold with 28 years left costs about $8,900. The cheaper-looking one is not the cheaper one. Our deal calculator computes this on every listing, and the number sits in the page header rather than in the footnotes.
2. What is actually included
“Villa, 2 bedrooms, $250,000” can mean a finished, furnished house with a pool, a working well and a 5,500 W connection — or a shell with a rendering of the pool. Furnishing, the power rating, the water source and whether PBG and SLF exist can account for tens of thousands of dollars of difference behind the same headline. These are separate fields on every listing here, not adjectives in a paragraph.
3. Land versus building
Two properties at the same price, one with 3 ares and a small house, one with 1 are and a large house. In a maturing area the land is the durable asset; the building depreciates and dates. On the Bukit, where plots are larger and cheaper, the land share of the price is bigger than in Canggu, where you are often paying for location and structure.
NJOP: the government’s number, and why it is lower
NJOP — Nilai Jual Objek Pajak — is the assessed value the tax office uses. On Bali it sits substantially below market price. Two consequences:
- PBB, the annual land and building tax at 0.1–0.5%, is charged on NJOP, not on what you paid. This is why the annual bill looks small.
- BPHTB, the 5% acquisition duty, is charged on the transaction value or NJOP, whichever is higher — so the low assessment does not reduce your purchase tax.
NJOP is also a rough sanity check. A price wildly above the area’s NJOP is not automatically wrong — assessments lag the market badly here — but a very large gap is worth a question.
What each area costs: the Rumah123 snapshot
Because our own catalogue is not yet large enough to produce honest area statistics, these figures come from Rumah123, Indonesia’s largest property portal, sampled on 7 October 2026 from its “Villa Dijual” listings and converted at 16,500 IDR to the dollar. Asking prices, not transaction prices.
| Area | Listings | Median | Middle half | Median plot | Per are |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canggu | 4,193 | $521,000 | $279k – $818k | 315 m² | $170,000 |
| Seminyak | 1,512 | $424,000 | $236k – $679k | 220 m² | $199,000 |
| Kerobokan | 1,398 | $409,000 | $291k – $818k | 248 m² | $158,000 |
| Pecatu | 954 | $379,000 | $212k – $527k | 217 m² | $175,000 |
| Uluwatu | 966 | $366,000 | $203k – $879k | 210 m² | $153,000 |
| Ubud | 1,754 | $348,000 | $233k – $818k | 373 m² | $93,000 |
| Sanur | 1,928 | $273,000 | $158k – $333k | 203 m² | $134,000 |
| Jimbaran | 4,991 | $236,000 | $148k – $909k | 178 m² | $124,000 |
| Nusa Dua | 2,417 | $223,000 | $130k – $485k | 167 m² | $112,000 |
| Ungasan | 2,550 | $194,000 | $118k – $315k | 130 m² | $126,000 |
The per-are column is the one to read. Ungasan has the lowest headline price on the island and land that costs more per are than Ubud’s, Jimbaran’s or Nusa Dua’s — it is cheap because the plots are small, not because the ground is. Ubud at $93,000 an are is where land is genuinely cheap, on the largest plots of the ten. And Seminyak costs more per are than Canggu despite a lower median price, because Canggu sells bigger plots.
Each area, what the premium is for and what to check on the ground: the area guides.
Two caveats that matter more than the numbers. The samples are 20–40 listings per area out of thousands, so trust the medians and treat the per-are figures as orders of magnitude. And leasehold and freehold are mixed together, because the portal does not separate them and many leasehold listings do not say — which makes the areas comparable with each other but means no figure above should be read as “the freehold price”.
What actually moves price between areas
In rough order of leverage:
- Zoning. A tourism-zone plot where short-stay guests are lawful prices differently from a residential plot next door. Same land, different asset.
- Minutes to the beach. Measured in minutes by scooter, because on Bali traffic is the distance. Four minutes versus fifteen is a price bracket.
- Area maturity. Canggu, Berawa, Seminyak, Pererenan carry the premium. The Bukit — Uluwatu, Ungasan, Pecatu, Bingin — and Sanur sit lower, with larger plots for the money. Ubud is its own market with its own buyer.
- Access. A plot on a sealed road with a clear right of way is worth more than the same plot down a shared track. Who owns the access road is a real question, not a formality.
- Permits. PBG present and SLF issued is a price factor, and its absence is a negotiating lever.
What 2026 did to the market
One structural change worth pricing in. Since late 2025 Bali has restricted new permits for hotels, restaurants and tourism accommodation on agricultural land across six regencies — Tabanan, Jembrana, Buleleng, Bangli, Karangasem and Klungkung — with Badung, Gianyar and Denpasar outside the ban, and agricultural land conversion restricted province-wide regardless.
The effect on prices is asymmetric: bare land for development got riskier, because new PBG applications in the restricted areas are frozen with no published end date, while completed property with a valid PBG got relatively more valuable. If you are comparing a plot with a plan against a finished house, the gap between them narrowed this year in favour of the finished house.
Our own numbers
The catalogue currently holds 3 listings, from $100,000. We publish area price ranges from our own base as it fills rather than reprinting market estimates we cannot verify — a price range with no source behind it is the kind of number that ends up quoted back at a notary. Where a figure here comes from outside our base, it is labelled as such.
For a specific property, the calculator on its page is more useful than any range: it takes the actual price, the actual term and the actual land area and produces the full cost of the deal, with the tax rates editable. Final figures are confirmed by the notary at signing.
Common questions
What is an “are” and why does everyone use it?
One are is 100 m². It is the standard land unit on Bali, and local sellers and notaries think in ares rather than square metres. A 2.5-are plot is 250 m². Our listings show both so you do not have to convert.
Why is a cheaper villa sometimes the more expensive one?
Because leasehold price says nothing without the term. Divide price by years remaining and you get cost per year of ownership. A $385,000 property with 17 years left runs about $22,600 a year; a $250,000 one with 28 years left runs about $8,900. The headline inverts.
Is NJOP a good guide to market value?
No — it is the tax assessment and it lags the market substantially on Bali. Useful for working out your annual PBB, and as a rough sanity check on a wildly priced listing, but not as a valuation.
Why don’t you publish average prices by area?
Because we would be reprinting other people’s estimates. Our rule is that every number on the site is computed from our own base, so area ranges appear as the catalogue fills, and anything sourced from outside is labelled. A price range with no source behind it is worse than no range.
Did the construction moratorium push prices up?
It changed the balance rather than the level. New permits for tourism accommodation on agricultural land are restricted in six regencies, which makes bare development land riskier and completed property with a valid PBG relatively stronger. The main tourist belt sits outside the ban.