With record-breaking prices of more than THB300,000 per sqm having been achieved in five downtown Bangkok condominium projects during 2014, CBRE Thailand said that it believed the downtown condominium sector is a low-volume high-value market with limited new supply.
The number of condominium units launched increased by 281 percent quarter-on-quarter in the Bangkok downtown area, and 13 percent quarter-on-quarter in the midtown/suburban areas during the final three months of last year.
Due to political turmoil in the first half of the year, CBRE disclosed the total number of condominiums launched throughout 2014 decreased by 37 percent in the downtown market and by 29 percent in the midtown/suburban market, compared to 2013 figures.
CBRE noted that the hot spot for midtown/suburban condominium launches in 2014 was along the MRT’s Purple Line. Throughout the year, 7,500 units launched in this area, accounting for
58 percent of newly launched units along under-construction mass transit lines.
This, the real estate firm said, has pushed developers to search for new locations along other under-construction mass-transit lines where there is less competition.
CBRE again stated that the key issue for them, and for the Bangkok property market as a whole, is in the midtown/suburban market. They questioned how many speculative condominium buyers will default if they cannot resell before completion, and how many end-user buyers will be able to get mortgage loans with tightened banks’ criteria.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
