Buying

Does a Shorter Lease Make a Bali Villa Cheaper? The Data Says Barely

Completed Bali leaseholds with under 20 years left asked only about 14% less per m² than 25–30 year leases, despite a third fewer years.

Updated 6 October 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

Among completed leasehold villas on 6 October 2026, those with under 20 years on the lease asked a median IDR 26.8 million per m² of building (38 listings); those with 25–30 years asked IDR 31.1 million (145). The shorter leases — a median 16.5 years left against 25 — were about 14% cheaper per m² while offering a third fewer years.
Per square metre per year of lease, short leases were the most expensive way to buy time: IDR 1.70 million against IDR 1.17 million for 25–30 years and IDR 0.96 million for 30 years or more.
The median advertised lease across 714 leaseholds stating a term was 26 years; completed villas sat at 25 and off-plan at 28.
Asking prices do not discount short leases enough. Divide any leasehold price by its years remaining before comparing it with another.

Price against years remaining

The table uses completed villas only, because off-plan leases cluster at 30 years and longer and carry their own price premium, which would muddy the comparison. Price is per square metre of building, so a large villa on a short lease is not compared with a small one on a long lease.

Years on the lease	Median per m²	Per m² per lease-year	Listings
Under 20	IDR 26.8m	IDR 1.70m	38
20–24	IDR 31.1m	IDR 1.38m	79
25–29	IDR 31.1m	IDR 1.17m	145
30 or more	IDR 32.1m	IDR 0.96m	66

Why a short lease looks cheap and is not

A leasehold is time in a house. Halve the time and, other things equal, you should roughly halve the price, less something for the fact that money now is worth more than years later. The listings do not do that: going from 25–29 years to under 20 cut the median price per m² by about 14%. Sellers price the building, and buyers compare headline numbers, so the years remaining get under-weighted on both sides.

The consequence is arithmetic. At the medians, a 16.5-year lease asking 86% of a 25-year lease’s price costs about 30% more per year of use. Unless the short lease carries an extension clause with a fixed price, it is usually the worse buy at the same headline.

How to compare two leases properly

Four checks turn a leasehold asking price into something comparable:

Use years remaining from today, not the term originally granted; a 30-year lease signed nine years ago is a 21-year asset.
Divide the price by years remaining to get a cost per year, then compare that with the annual rent of a similar villa.
Check the extension clause. A pre-priced extension adds real value to a short lease; “to be agreed” adds none.
Remember the building reverts with the land. Anything you spend on renovation has to pay back within the years left.

Common questions

How long are leaseholds in Bali?

The median advertised term across 714 leasehold listings on 6 October 2026 was 26 years; completed villas had a median of 25 and off-plan villas 28. Terms of 20 to 30 years cover most of the market.

Is a 20-year leasehold in Bali worth buying?

Only at the right price. On the listings measured, leases under 20 years asked only about 14% less per m² than 25–30 year leases, so per year of use they cost more. Divide the price by years remaining before deciding.

How much cheaper should a shorter Bali lease be?

Roughly in proportion to the years missing, less some allowance for the time value of money. A lease with a third fewer years at only 14% less per m², as the median listings showed, is expensive per year.

What happens to a Bali villa when the lease ends?

The land and everything built on it revert to the landowner, unless an extension was agreed and priced in the original deed.

Medians over completed leasehold villas listed by Baliestate’s partner agencies as extracted on 6 October 2026, with a stated lease term and building size (328 listings). Asking prices, not transaction prices. Years are as advertised, which may be the remaining term or the original term; check every listing.