Jakarta. Real estate developers on Thursday urged the government to set up a national housing database, saying that it would be a good starting point for Indonesia to find out how many more homes it needs to build for its people.

A housing backlog reflects the gap between home demand and existing ownership in Indonesia. A 2023 nationwide survey showed that Indonesia's housing backlog had dropped from around 12.7 million units to 9.9 million units.

President Prabowo Subianto is trying to ramp up national housing development with a plan to build 3 million homes during his tenure. The government is also working on a subsidized housing program, which recently came under fire for its proposed compact size.

As the populous Indonesia tries to provide homes for its people, Raymond Ardan Arfandy -- the secretary-general of the Real Estate Indonesia or REI’s central executive board -- Thursday that it would be best for the country to make sure that the housing construction is data-driven.

“I think our housing backlog has always focused more on population growth, not the actual housing demand itself. The only way to address this shortage is to have a national database that shows how many more houses the country really needs,” Raymond said in a discussion hosted by B-Universe Media Holdings in Pantai Indah Kapuk 2, Tangerang.

Once the database is up, Indonesia can create a roadmap for its housing development program.

“It would be pointless without a database. So imagine … if Banyuwangi’s actual housing demand stands at 30,000 units, but we are only building 15,000 homes. So the database is our starting point,” Raymond said, referring to the East Java town.

The businessman told the conference that the government could conduct digital surveys to collect the data needed for the upcoming database. They can also involve the so-called rukun tetangga (RT) -- a neighborhood unit that is the lowest level in the country’s subdivisions. A single RT has its own chief, and usually encompasses up to 50 families. According to media reports, Indonesia had 1.1 million RT units across the archipelago as of 2021.

“We can conduct a digital survey of the residents to find out how many kids they have, among others. From there, we can predict the future housing demand, especially when these children grow up and get married,” Raymond said.

Indonesia has been tracking its backlogs based on the so-called Susenas (short for “national socio-economic surveys”).

Amid the calls for a housing database, the Indonesian government is increasing its tech adoption. The Housing Ministry recently launched the MyPKP app to track the progress of Prabowo’s ambitious 3 million homes program. They require sub-national governments to make monthly reports of how many new houses have been built or renovated in their respective area.