Bangkok’s residential rental market is expected to grow this year due in part to the extension of mass-transit lines as well as because of an increase in foreign investment. Dr Piyasak Manason, Kiatnakin Bank’s senior vice president and head of its industrial and economic research department, revealed that the transit extensions will be positive for the apartment market while the implementation of the Asean Economic Community will see more foreigners looking for living accommodations in the Thai capital.
The hotel market has one of the strongest outlooks as visitors from around the world flock to Thailand in record numbers while domestic tourism also continues to increase. The number of inbound tourists arriving in Thailand is expected to reach 32 million this year and will increase again in both 2017 and 2018 according to research from Kiatnakin Bank.
The market for serviced units designed for expatriates has potential to grow as well when the mass-transit extensions start to come online. Bangkok’s central business districts should expand thanks to these projects and this will likely improve the market for units in upscale serviced apartments located in these areas.
Jiraporn Linmaneechote, assistant managing director for research at Phatra Securities, believes the property market finds itself in a similar position to where it was at this time last year. A number of large developers unveiled new condominium projects with the intention of marketing these towards the end of the year. However, if the market shows signs of weakness or continues to struggle, some will consider pushing back launches until 2017 creating a similar scenario as to what took place in 2015.
She concluded that the number of new launches will continue to hinge on the demand from consumers. Jiraporn explained that it estimates the value of the residential property market in Bangkok and the surrounding areas will increase by 17 percent in 2016.