Soho Properties

Phuket development shifts to private islands

Kanana Katharangsiporn

Phuket’s property development boom is expanding to four small nearby islands with total project investments of around 20 billion baht, says Risinee Sarikaputra, head of research at property consultant Colliers International Thailand.

“It’s a trend toward private islands,” she said.

“World celebrities, Hollywood stars and people in the ultra high-end segment love privacy and prefer buying a resort on a private island where no one can interfere with them. That’s why many property developers move to small islands.”

She said the largest investment on Phuket’s neighbouring islands is from the huge Indian conglomerate Tata Group’s Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces on Koh Lone, located on southeastern Phuket near Chalong Bay.

The Indian-based hotel firm is investing almost 10 billion baht to develop Taj Exotica Resort and Spa on 125 ...

By Ekarin Bumroongpuk The Nation

Returns of 8.6% are better than forecast average inflation rate for the year

Thai property funds may appeal to investors wishing to beat inflation, as their returns averaged 8.6 per cent over the past 12 months, the highest rate in Asia, experts said yesterday.

The average inflation forecast for this year is about 8 per cent.

Already 20 property funds have been listed since they were approved as an investment vehicle five years ago and 21 are heading for a public offering.

SCB Asset Management will launch two property funds this year, while Kasikorn Asset Management will debut one next month.

The spread between the dividend yield of property funds and the interest rate of Thai government bonds was as much as 3 percentage points, said Yupharet Likitsansuk, vice president for research at SCB Securities Co Ltd.

Currently the return on a government bond maturing in 10 years was 5.55 per cent, he said.

Four ...

By Property Reporters, The Nation

The Phloenchit-Wireless intersection is set to become a new landmark for Bangkok, as three property developers, including the Central Group, Tan Passakornnatee and Charoen Siriwattanapakdi, get set to develop projects worth about Bt20billion at the location.

The Central Group helped the Phloenchit-Wireless Road area gain popularity in March 2006 when it won a Bt3.8-billion bid for a 10-rai plot, where the United Kingdom embassy had been located. The group plans to develop the plot as a huge complex consisting of office buildings, departmental stores, a hotel and an entertainment centre.

This deal has caused the land price in the area to escalate greatly, so much so that it has become the base price for plots in the downtown area.

Tan Passakornnatee is planning to buy a 1-rai plot in Phloenchit area from Sutham Malila, former president of TOT. The land, which is currently occupied by a Caltex petrol station, is located next ...

Source: Bangkok Post

Rising construction costs have caused a slowdown in self-built housing demand for units priced at 3-5 million baht a unit, says Panthep Thanchitikul, president of the Home Builder Association.

The spike in construction costs and inflation has reduced purchasing power in the middle to low-end segment and has cut demand for 3-5 million baht units.

However, wealthier buyers of units priced at seven million baht or more have rushed to build their units out of fear that prices would rise.

‘’If they delay their decision or if construction is delayed, cost could rise by 3-4% a unit.'’ he said, adding that prices increased by 7% in the first half of the year.

Mr Panthep said that during the first quarter of this year, the home building market had improved following the election of the new government. But rising oil prices in the past two months have hit consumer confidence.

In May and June, some home builders had ...

Source: The Nation

Firms move to strengthen their marketing strategies as competition gets tougher

A sample room at LPN Development’s Lumpini Place Rama IX-Ratchada project. Despite a change in corporate branding, LPN will launch projects under the Lumpini brand.

As competition in the property market hots up, developers have started devising strategies that not only ensure brand loyalty among existing customers, but also attract buyers from newer segments.

For the past two years, developers such as Land & Houses, Sansiri, Plus Property, Preuksa Real Estate, Property Perfect, Areeya Property and NC Housing have been paying significant attention to revamping their corporate image. The trend reflects the rising power of corporate and product branding in the property market.

Condominium-market leader LPN Development has changed its logo as part of a rebranding strategy. The old logo showed a blue building set against a light-blue background. The ...

Source: Bangkok Post

Oversupply could push prices downward

Anyone thinking of selling a condominium should do so soon because prices are likely to drop in six to 12 months due to political uncertainty and oversupply, says Ian Soo, managing director of Hamptons Property.

Prices have already stabilised and as more units come on the market, they may be pushed down.

“I think there is an oversupply of units in central Bangkok and I think if you combine that with some sort of political uncertainty then what you will find is less demand,” said Mr Soo. “This is effectively going to put pressure on prices.”

He said that the downward price pressure was unlikely to be very pronounced in the 1-3 million baht condominium or townhouse segment. “I think the high end of the market will have some stock that will be harder to sell now, so it’s more likely to affect the luxury end of the market.”

As a lot of the property ...

Thailand is now ranked 15th out of 178 countries throughout the world by the World Bank as the most attractive place to conduct business, according to Gianni Zanini, a leading economist of the World Bank.

Mr. Zanini said Thailand’s ranking was obtained from the World Bank’s world trade indicator for 2008, launched recently and covering global trade.

Information obtained from the indicator showed that Thailand stood at 15th place out of 178 countries for doing business. However, there are also obstacles which include too many rules, lack of skilled personnel and poor
infrastructure, especially in areas outside Bangkok.

According to Mr. Zanini, Thailand’s trade and service growth in 2007 earned 7.8 per cent and was ranked at 69th out of 160 nations.

Thailand’s market share in the global trading in 2007 fell 1.5 per cent due to the appreciation of the Thai currency, the baht, between 2006-2007, but its exports, especially electronics ...

Source: The Nation (By Agencies)

Bangkok was voted the world’s best city for 2008 and the Galapagos were picked as the best islands in an online poll by Travel + Leisure magazine, winning over last year’s winners Florence, Italy and Bali, Indonesia.

US-based magazine readers also voted Singita Sabi Sand, at the Kruger National Park, South Africa, as the world’s top hotel while Singapore Airlines grabbed the best airline award again.

It was the first time that Bangkok and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador topped their respective categories, said Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure.

Last year, Bangkok was ranked number 3 and the Galapagos number 8. The 2007 winners of best city and best island — Florence and Bali — fell to number 5 and number 2 respectively.

Singapore Airlines was voted number one, followed by Emirates, Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific.

Last ...

Source: The Nation

Slowdown spells opportunity for developers, analysts say

Small- and medium-sized firms that own land on Sathorn Road have started selling plots at prices that are between 10 per cent and 15 per cent lower than last year, as they grapple with the economic slowdown and rising construction costs.

Thailand’s leading property companies have started to accumulate plots from landowners as well as small- and medium-sized developers at prices that are 10 to 15 per cent lower than last year’s.

This is due to the country’s economic slowdown which has helped lower land prices in prime locations.

According a survey conducted by The Nation this week, leading property companies such as Land & Houses, TCC Land, Preuksa Real Estate and Asian Property Development have started to accumulate land located close to the mass-transit system and the central business district, as prices in these locations have dropped between 10 per ...

Agency launches contest for energy-efficient design

The Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department has launched an “Energy Conservation House Design 2008″ contest, inviting more than 200 real-estate developers to enter.

This contest is expected to raise awareness among developers and the general public to consider energy-conservation innovations while selecting home-decoration material.

The department hopes to reduce energy consumption in the residential and business sectors by more than 10 per cent, director general Panich Pongpirodom said.

Awards, plaques and certificates by the prime minister, are classifieds in three levels - exceptional, good and honourable-mentions. Winners will also be recognised and announced in the media.

The entries will be accepted until September 9 at the customer-service

section, Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department, Energy Ministry.

Eco-conciousness

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