While Thailand’s property market has eased due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it has provided an ideal time for lucrative investors seeking to make a profit. Parking money in bricks and mortar can be one of the best ways to get money to work hard, provided the right property at an attractive price is secured.
Data collected from DDproperty in their quarterly report, ‘Thailand Property Market Index Q1 2021’, reveals that the Price and Supply Indexes have decreased 2% and 23% respectively from the previous quarter.
“The weakening of the property market for the first quarter of 2021 is a direct result of the new wave of COVID-19 pandemic that has caused the Price and Supply Indexes to depreciate", comments Kamolpat Sawaengkit, Country Manager of DDproperty.
The slump in property prices has been across all property types, although condominiums have felt the pinch the most as attention has drawn towards living in houses as opposed to lateral spaces. This has led to the index reaching its lowest level since the second quarter of 2018 and further exacerbated by the tightening of low-to-value measures making it harder for investors to raise funds to transact.
These figures signify a weaker market not great for sellers or developers. But it does provide more favourable conditions for investors with sufficient funding to take advantage of lower prices in anticipation that the property market will venture into an upwards trajectory in the future.
When considering what property type, investors should note that the Price Index of condominiums decreased 2% from the previous quarter and 5% year-on-year, while remained stable for townhouses and reduced 2% for single-detached houses.
Likewise, the areas that have performed the best are near newly opened or soon to be opened mass transit network stations. For example, properties in Bang Khen district rose 7% from the previous quarter, and condominiums in the same locale bucked the trend increasing 4%.
Despite being able to take advantage of lower prices, buyers should be aware that they have less choice. Developers and sellers have delayed selling to wait for a more buoyant time in the market, causing the Supply Index to decline to 363 points from 385.
The second wave of COVID-19 and political instability will arouse concern for Thailand’s property market this year. Property stimulus measures reducing taxes were introduced to help give the market a boast, but have had little success. Regardless of this, buyers with an appetite to invest should not snub now as an appealing time to transact provided they carefully consider the right product, price, and location.
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