According to Thailand listed property developer Pruksa Real Estate, the current political turmoil in the kingdom has greatly affected public spending.
Thailand’s National News Bureau has reported the company as predicting Thailand’s real estate sector will likely contract by as much as 10 percent this year.
Thongma Wijitpongpan, the Chief Executive Officer of Pruksa Real Estate, the largest residential developer in Thailand measured by unit transfers, said this year’s national GDP is expected to grow by just 2 percent, down from the 4-5 percent previously predicted as a result of the prolonged political upheaval which has severely impacted the sector.
He said his company’s first quarter sales figures declined by 33.5 percent year-on-year, adding that condominium sales contracted by 58.3 percent, with townhouses down by 24.8 percent and sales of single houses decreasing by 2.4 percent.
He also added his belief that the real estate sector will plunge even further if the political situation worsened to the point that a new government could not be formed, which would in turn hinder the mega-infrastructure and related planned projects.
Image: Flickr imge titled Bangkok Protests by Johan Fantenberg, reproduced under a Creative Commons License.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg