Chewathai announced that it has acquired an under-construction condo project from AQ Estate for THB586 million. The Aria Asoke will now be rebranded Chewathai Residence Asoke and is estimated to be worth a total of THB1.7 billion. It is expected to be open in late 2018 or early 2019.
Chewathai managing director Boon Choon Kiat told media that this investment is a sound one since the project was situated in a prime location. It was also noted that the development had sold out during the launch which was held in the third quarter of last year. The price of resale units at the former Aria Asoke along with units at other nearby condominiums have continued to grow.
“Return on investment from acquiring an existing project is faster than that from starting developments from scratch,” Boon explained. “We can continue construction of this project and complete it by the end of next year — only 19 months from today.”
One of the reasons Chewathai opted to purchase the under construction project instead of building one themselves was to save time. The developer estimated that it would take up to three-and-a-half years to complete a similar condo development after securing a land plot. This includes the time spent waiting for environmental impact assessment.
In addition to rebranding the property, Chewathai announced that they are willing to buy back any units from buyers should they not be happy with the change. At the moment, Chewathai Residence Asoke is 20 percent completed and will stand 29 stories when finished. There will be a total of 315 units.
This is the company’s third acquisition during the past five years. The developer purchased Chewathai Interchange, 26-story condo, in 2012. The company’s most recent purchased happened in 2014 when it bought the Hallmark Chaengwattana for THB800 million.
“The first two projects were sold to us as the owners were non-property developers and might not have had experience in condo development,” Boon noted. “For the Asoke project, the developer had no financial problems but agreed to sell to us anyway.”