Windows of opportunity for investors of Thai real estate

Growing confidence shared amongst local developers, analysts, and economists  

In late February, economists in Thailand conveyed their optimism when it comes to the recovery of the sector, revealing to Bangkok Post that developers should gear up for post-Covid growth regardless of the surging inflation rates and development prices. 

From 2022 to 2024, Senior Executive Vice-President at Bangkok Bank Kobsak Pootrakool said that the kingdom will be welcoming a new economic stage after the two-year slump. 

He also mentioned the forthcoming end to the pandemic and noted that the transition stage will be fraught with fluctuations. “If we can make it through, we should be able to ride Asia’s economic growth wave, which can be prominent in the global economy after 2024.” 

Pootrakool, who also served as a minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, added: “It’s time to reinvest in the property sector. The new Omicron variant will likely ease by the end of next month because of mass vaccination.” 

In the Thailand Property Market Report Q1 2022 by DDProperty, Country Manager Kamolpat Swaengkit also shared her enthusiasm, commenting that the “reduction of transfer ownership fees to 0.01 percent for both new and secondhand properties, and the relaxing of LTV policies allowing buyers 100 percent loans with low-interest rates should help bolster the market.” 

Local property developers have echoed the same sentiment since the fourth quarter of 2021, confident that the market will bounce back in no time. 

In the same period last year, Acting Director-General of the Real Estate Information Centre Vichai Viratkapan said the catalogue of residential developers increased to 52.0 from 47.1 in the previous quarter. 

“An index below the median of 50 means developers are not confident,” explained Viratkapan. “The last time the index was 50 or higher was the first quarter of 2019. After that, the reading dropped below 50 because of the lending curbs effective from April 1, 2019.” 

Optimism has indeed spread throughout the trailblazers of the industry, with the distinguished winners of the 16th PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards spearheading the progress by launching more projects in 2022.  

AP Thailand, whose CEO Anuphong Assavabhokhin nabbed the acclaimed Real Estate Personality of the Year title, will be unveiling 65 new projects valued at THB78 billion combined, the biggest recorded so far in the market this year, with the cost of units ranging between THB1.8 and 50 million. 

Best Developer Sansiri has also revealed its plans to build THB150 billion worth of residential projects from 2022 to 2024. 

Other award-winning developers preparing for recovery include Best Developer Phuket Utopia Corporation Co., Ltd., Best Developer Eastern Seaboard Maneerin Property, Best Hospitality Developer Habitat Hospitality Co., Ltd., Best Boutique Developer Habitat Group Co., Ltd., and Best Breakthrough Developer Andaman Asset Solution Co., Ltd. 

These new launches come at a time when Colliers International Thailand forecasts surge of 33.7 percent to 33,569 new condominium units in Bangkok, reported Nation Thailand. 

More: 17th PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards programme opens as real estate market sets forth on path to recovery

CBRE Thailand expects the strong demand for bigger condo units in the resale market to remain in 2022. Praphinleeya Phuengkhuankhan, head of the residential sales ad hoc team, said: “Most of the buyers in the resale market are end-users purchasing a unit for their own use rather than speculating for short-term profit.” 

As for the hospitality sector, JLL said the investment continues to be persistent, with the property consultant predicting the sales volume in 2022 to be 30 percent higher than the 10-year median pre-Covid levels for the second year in a row. 

Last year, 23 hotels sold roughly 3,000 keys for a total of THB13.2 billion, skyrocketing from THB1.9 billion in 2020 and THB6.3 billion in 2019. The tally was 30 percent greater than the 10-year average pre-Covid levels between 2009 and 2019. 

“The number of hotels being sold this year will be lower as most of them will be bigger in size with over THB1 billion per deal, compared with THB500 to 600 million on average last year,” clarified Chakkrit Chakrabandhu Na Ayudhya, executive vice-president of investment sales for Asia at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group. 

More: Thailand sets forth on path to recovery

When it comes to the industrial sector, Colliers found that warehouses and factories will grow consistently this year, especially built-to-suit facilities and warehouse farms, as e-commerce demand continues to grow, and as foreign investors express their interest to invest in diverse sectors across the country. 

“The pandemic keeps boosting online shopping,” said Phattarachai Taweewong, director of research and communication at property consultancy. “Logistics centres and factories of e-commerce business and consumer product entrepreneurs have been expanding since 2020 due to high demand.” 

The retail market, on the other hand, will be seeing the completion of bigger new projects in Greater Bangkok since juggernaut retail developers are still looking for opportunities to expand to inner-city areas and on the outskirts. 

“Large players like international brands will keep requiring more rental spaces,” concluded Taweewong. 

Know of any award-worthy residential, commercial, or industrial projects in Thailand? Nominate them for the 17th annual PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards on or before 9 September 2022. To know more, visit AsiaPropertyAwards.com/Award/Thailand/.  

Gynen Kyra Toriano, Digital Content Manager at PropertyGuru, wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].