Lombok Villas Draw Sydney Buyers as Australian Interest Grows

South Lombok’s short-stay market has drawn a growing share of Australian buyers, and one Sydney group’s five-villa cluster shows how that interest can develop into a small accommodation venture. Stephen Jones and his friends began with a block in Kuta in early 2022; the first three-bedroom villa cost about $300,000 all-in, less than a quarter of Sydney’s median dwelling value.

The comparison helps explain the appeal, but it doesn’t settle the commercial case. A lower purchase and construction cost can open a door for buyers priced out of a major Australian city, while still leaving questions about bookings, expenses and the work of managing a property at a distance. This is one group’s experience, not a market-wide measure of returns.

Five villas built around one first purchase

The initial project combined holiday use with rental income. When the first villa booked consistently, the group bought a second block opposite and divided it into two smaller sites. They built a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom villa there, bringing their own holdings to three.

That sequence matters. The second purchase followed observed bookings at the first property, giving the group a practical reason to expand. It still doesn’t reveal how much income remained after costs, or how bookings varied across the year. “Booked consistently” describes the owners’ experience; it isn’t enough on its own to establish the performance a new buyer could expect.

Friends followed on the neighbouring block, adding two more villas. The result is a nearby group of five properties, developed by people who already knew one another and could share the experience of building and visiting Lombok. Their proximity may make visits and coordination easier, though it also means the owners share exposure to the same local conditions and visitor market.

Jones said the group formed an Indonesian company with foreign shareholders. He described the setup as legitimate and said the first villa rented well. He also credited the project’s local architect, lawyer, accountant, property agent and other partners, saying the group was pleased with the construction and the people involved. That account points to the range of local expertise a project can require, while leaving the specific ownership and operating arrangements undescribed.

Mr Jones with his friends on the vacant block before building 2022

Nightly rates vary by villa size

The three private pool villas are listed at typical Airbnb rates of $145 a night for one-bedroom Villa Chinchero, $210 for two-bedroom Villa Whitehaven and $280 for three-bedroom Villa Mariposa. The figures offer a snapshot of the group’s accommodation mix; the source gives no occupancy or annual income data.

The spread suggests the villas are pitched at different group sizes and budgets. A higher nightly rate for a larger property doesn’t, by itself, show that it earns more over a year: the number of nights booked, operating costs and the pattern of demand all matter. Those details aren’t provided here. The numbers here are underwhelming as evidence of profitability, even if they make the product range clear.

For readers comparing short-stay properties, advertised rates are best read as asking prices for a night, not as a financial result. If you're working in this space, the missing occupancy and income figures are central to assessing how the business performs. A rate card can show positioning; it can’t show the full economics.

Villa Mariposa three-bedroom, three-bathroom private villa with pool typical Airbnb AUD 280 per night

Stephen Jones (L) with friend in the Villa Mariposa pool

Villa Chinchero one-bedroom, one-bathroom private villa with pool typical Airbnb AUD $145 per night

Stephen Jones and friends Lombok in 2022

Tourism appeal and a rising Australian presence

Jones points to Lombok’s lifestyle and visitor draw, including its airport, restaurants, surfing, hiking and ecotourism. He and his friends had lived in Singapore for nearly a decade and already regarded Indonesia, especially Lombok, as a favourite destination. The combination of holidays and rental demand helped make the location compelling to them.

That combination is a familiar feature of lifestyle-led property buying: owners value personal use alongside the possibility of rental income. It can make a project attractive even where the financial picture isn’t fully documented. And yet the two aims can pull in different directions, since time set aside for owners and family isn’t time available to guests.

Tom Merrett, principal of Reef Property Lombok, has also seen Australian interest increase. After almost 20 years in Australian commercial property, he moved to Lombok full-time. He says Australians represented 15 per cent of his customers two years ago; that share now sits at about 50 per cent.

His figures describe the customer base of one property business, rather than the entire market. Still, the change he reports indicates a stronger Australian presence in his own work and adds a broader industry perspective to Jones’s personal account. It doesn’t establish why buyers are arriving, or how much of that interest translates into completed projects.

For Jones, the venture’s value extends beyond accommodation. He says the shared project gives friends a reason to stay connected and creates opportunities for family holidays and trips together. A social return is harder to measure than a nightly rate, but it’s plainly part of how the group judges the project.

Villa Whitehaven: tw0-bedroom, two- bathroom private villa with pool has a typical Airbnb rate of AUD 210 per night

What the group’s experience says about the opportunity

Jones says the Indonesian government welcomes foreign investment when it follows local rules, adding that projects can support jobs and local businesses. For Australians considering a similar build, his advice is to appoint someone who can coordinate decisions and to work with experienced local professionals familiar with international buyers. That advice reflects the practical demands of a project involving construction, property operations and several owners.

The expansion also depended on a specific sequence: a first property the group wanted to use, rental bookings they considered consistent, and friends willing to take part nearby. Those circumstances help explain why this venture grew, but they don’t amount to a template for other buyers. The reported nightly rates and customer figures offer context; they leave the costs, occupancy and annual income unanswered.

Here's the thing: South Lombok’s appeal in this account rests on two propositions, a destination the owners want to return to and accommodation they believe visitors will book. The first is personal; the second needs operating evidence. A project can be meaningful to its owners and still leave the commercial picture incomplete.

For Jones and his friends, the result is a small cluster of villas and a shared base for holidays. A nucleus. That may be the point most central to their story, even as the wider market’s prospects remain difficult to read from one group’s experience.