Jamie McIntyre Bets on Lombok as He Outlines Six-City Vision for Indonesia
The Bali-based Australian developer says international migration will reshape Indonesia’s property market, while acknowledging that building projects has proved far harder than he expected.
By Jakarta Newsdesk
Australian property developer and political commentator Jamie McIntyre believes Lombok could become a major beneficiary of a shift in where people choose to live, work and invest.
In an interview with Jakarta Newsdesk, the Australian National Review founder outlined his ambition to develop six planned communities across Indonesia, beginning with Nesara Bay City on Lombok’s southern coast.
His investment thesis centres on a prediction: rising living costs and dissatisfaction with conditions in Western countries will encourage more people to relocate to Indonesia.
“Bali won’t handle the amount of volume of Westerners coming to want to live here,” McIntyre said.
It is a forecast underpinning a substantial commercial commitment. Through LUX Property Group, McIntyre is developing properties in Bali while pursuing the larger Lombok project. He therefore has a direct financial interest in the markets he believes will grow.
Bali or Lombok?
McIntyre views Bali and Lombok as markets at different stages of development.
He regards Bali as an established destination that has already experienced substantial property investment. Lombok, in his assessment, offers an earlier opportunity for buyers prepared to take a longer view.
He said he began encouraging his investor network several years ago to diversify some of their Australian property exposure into Indonesia.
His view now is that Lombok could attract a growing share of the interest previously concentrated on Bali. That remains his market forecast, rather than evidence that every location or development will experience rising prices.
For McIntyre, the distinction is also between attracting visitors and building places where people want to remain.
His six-city vision rests on the expectation that Indonesia will draw more long-term foreign residents alongside its holiday market.
Why South Lombok?
McIntyre’s starting point is Nesara Bay City, a proposed coastal community in South Lombok. The project’s website describes it as a master-planned mini-city, while LUX’s project material outlines a staged waterfront development combining residential and commercial uses. (nesarabaycity.com, luxproperty.group)
He sees Lombok’s coastal setting and lifestyle appeal as foundations for a community that could attract international residents.
The broader strategy is to anticipate demand before it becomes obvious, then develop accommodation and amenities around that expectation.
His confidence that expatriates will form a substantial part of demand comes from his reading of migration pressures overseas. He points to household costs, political uncertainty and concerns about quality of life as reasons people may consider relocating.
That confidence is a development thesis, however. The interview did not establish independent forecasts showing how many foreign residents would move to the proposed communities or when.
A Career Built Around Market Calls
McIntyre describes identifying financial trends as the thread connecting his earlier investment activities with his Indonesian property ambitions.
He said he publicly encouraged Bitcoin purchases when it traded at approximately US$75, forecasting that it could reach US$10,000 and potentially US$100,000. He also said he later announced that he was selling at around US$110,000.
Those statements, their timing and the investment outcomes he attributes to them were not independently established for this article.
McIntyre also cited Australian housing, distressed American property following the global financial crisis and apartments in Batumi, Georgia, as examples of markets he encouraged investors to consider.
He recalled buying inexpensive houses in Phoenix and anticipating that Australian buyers could benefit from both a property recovery and a subsequent weakening of the Australian dollar.
He estimates that people in his wider investor network have collectively made more than A$10 billion through Australian property and Bitcoin. No independently audited calculation supporting that figure was provided with the interview.
Asked how he approaches forecasting, McIntyre attributed his decisions to geopolitics, pattern recognition and a willingness to act.
“It’s not because I have a crystal ball,” he said. “I believe in common sense.”
He argues that understanding political and economic change helps investors identify where capital and people may move next.
Betting on Indonesia’s Place in a Changing World
McIntyre’s enthusiasm for Indonesia extends beyond property.
He expects a more multipolar global economy, with emerging countries gaining influence, and regards Indonesia as well positioned within that shift.
Indonesia became a full member of BRICS in 2025, a development McIntyre sees as consistent with his broader investment outlook. (setkab.go.id)
“I’m betting on BRIC nations, a multipolar world that will rise and be more dominant,” he said.
He also predicts serious financial disruption in Western economies, citing debt and dissatisfaction with existing institutions. Those are his political and economic judgments; the interview does not establish that a Western financial collapse is inevitable.
His underlying commercial argument is that some households will respond to uncertainty by seeking a different lifestyle overseas, with Bali and Lombok among the destinations they consider.
“I Would Never Have Started”
Despite his confidence in the opportunity, McIntyre was blunt about the difficulty of becoming a developer in Indonesia.
“If I knew how hard it was before I started, I would never have started,” he said.
He said LUX Property Group initially emerged from his intention to build his own property portfolio. Members of his investment network subsequently wanted opportunities to purchase within the projects.
According to McIntyre, the company’s model offers earlier buyers what he describes as wholesale pricing in exchange for accepting the wait involved in construction.
He said completed properties can command retail prices around 50 per cent above those earlier purchase prices, although the comparison varies by property and was not independently assessed for this article.
His argument is that a lower acquisition price can improve rental yield if the completed property achieves the expected rental income.
That outcome depends on delivery, operating expenses, occupancy and the actual purchase terms. A discounted entry price alone does not establish the eventual return.
Losses and a Disputed Marketing Relationship
McIntyre said his experience has included substantial losses and business disputes.
He alleges that an initial builder defrauded him of approximately A$1.5 million.
He also alleges that a former marketing agency connected with the Lombok project diverted purchaser funds, used unauthorised contracts and adopted branding resembling the development’s own.
He estimates the disputed funds at approximately A$6 million to A$7 million.
These are McIntyre’s allegations. The interview material does not independently establish the amounts, responsibility for the disputed transactions or his broader assertions about criminal conduct. No response from the parties accused was included in the material supplied for this draft.
McIntyre said the experience should not be treated simply as evidence of Indonesian corruption, arguing that some of the conduct he alleges involved people from outside Indonesia.
His account highlights the importance he now places on checking business partners and payment arrangements, alongside the practical challenges of development.
His Message to Buyers: Inspect the Track Record
Asked what buyers should look for when considering Bali or Lombok, McIntyre returned to completed work.
“Just ask them how many properties they’ve developed,” he said.
He urged prospective purchasers to visit properties a developer has delivered and examine the difference between a marketing presentation and an operating building.
For his own six-city ambition, that same test will matter.
McIntyre is confident that international migration will create demand for new communities in Indonesia. Turning that prediction into occupied neighbourhoods will depend on securing approvals, delivering infrastructure and homes, and attracting residents willing to make those places their own.
