by kevinyeo | May 29, 2018 | News
HUA HIN, Prachuap Khiri Khan: The Hua Hin Provincial Court has ordered owners of two luxury condominiums in Hua Hin resort district to pay fines worth nearly 30,000 baht for leasing their residential units on an illegal short-term basis to Thai and foreign tourists.
Under the 2004 Hotel Act, violators can be jailed for one year and/or subject to a fine of up to 20,000 baht and a daily fine with a maximum value of 10,000 baht.
However, because the plaintiffs, whose names were withheld, confessed, the court agreed to reduce their penalties, Rutprathip Thamraphiphat, chief of Hua Hin district told the media on Saturday.
The ruling followed an inspection of three units in a Wan Wela Hua Hin Khao Tao condominium in Hua Hin last December which found their owners illegally leasing them out on a temporary basis.
The owners were divided into three cases. Two of them were settled on Saturday while the other is still being investigated, according to Mr Rutprathip.
In the first case, the defendant was fined 5,000 baht and has to pay another 500-baht daily fine for 20 days, which is equal to 10,000 baht in total.
The 5,000-baht fine was also imposed in the other case, together with a 100-baht daily fine for 81 days, which amounted to 8,100 baht.
“The wrongdoers leased the units to Thai and foreign tourists, charging them at both daily and weekly rates, without licenses,” Mr Rutprathip said.
He led the search of the three rooms amid reports some owners were advertising their units on social network sites.
The condominium is located on a 20 rai of land in Soi Hua Hin 101 in an area of tambon Nong Kae.
Citing an initial investigation, Mr Rutprathip said he believed “up to 90%” of owners had bought their units in order to offer lucrative short-term rentals to tourists.
The issue came to light following a dispute between the condominium operator and unit owners, in which the operator insisted that all rentals must be for a period greater than 30 days.
source: https://property.bangkokpost.com/news/1463902/hua-hin-condo-owners-fined-for-short-term-rentals
by kevinyeo | May 28, 2018 | News
Condominium prices on Sukhumvit Soi 39 and the Thong Lor area have surged by 40% over the past five years.
Thong Lor also takes the cake for the highest rental costs in Bangkok at 1,000 baht per square meter per month, reported property consultant Nexus Property Marketing Co.
Managing director Nalinrat Chareonsuphong said the company, after compiling data on newly-launched condominiums in central locations in the capital, had found that property prices have risen continuously due to an insufficiency of land for development and high demand both from Thai and foreign investors. Hence, new projects tend to pull high returns from either sales or rent.
Price
The Nexus survey found property prices on Sukhumvit Soi 39 and in the Thong Lor area had posted the highest increase over the past five years, rising 40% from 183,000 baht per sqm to 255,000 baht per sqm. Meanwhile, prices in the Rachada-Rama IX area and Ekamai surged 34% and 30%, respectively.
Condominium prices near the city center, such as the beginning of Phahon Yothin Road, Phaya Thai, and Thon Buri have also increased by 13-26% over the last five years.
In the first quarter of 2018, the average price of newly-launched high-end and luxury condominiums in inner Bangkok and its environs was 208,600 baht per sqm. The Sukhumvit 39-Thong Lor location registered the highest price at 315,000 baht per sqm, followed by Chidlom and Langsuan at 262,000 baht per sqm and Sathon (243,000 baht per sqm).
Rental costs
The average cost to rent high-end condominiums in inner Bangkok and surrounding areas is 754 baht per sq m per month. The rental rates in Sukhumvit Soi 39-Thong Lor, Langsuan and Sathon are 1,000, 955 and 823 baht per sqm per month, respectively. Most tenants are Japanese, European and Americans who work in the Bangkok’s central business district.
Meanwhile, the rental rates of high-end condominiums in inner Bangkok and surrounding areas range between 526-800 baht per square meter per month. The highest rental cost goes to the Ekamai and Phaya Thai areas, respectively. The rental rates in Rachada–Rama 9 and Thonburi are lower than other areas because most tenants are Thai and other Asian nationalities, except Japanese, who also work in Bangkok.
Rental rates per sqm for one-bedroom and two-bedroom units in the city center are more or less the same, with prices for the latter only 1-2% higher.
For central locations like Thonglor, Langsuan, and Sathorn, rent ranges from 43,000-52,000 baht per month for a one-bedroom unit and 65,000-82,000 for a two-bedroom unit. For central locations, the rental rate ranges from 19,700-33,000 baht per month for a one-bedroom unit and 33,500-54,600 baht per month for a two-bedroom unit.
Return on Investment
When comparing the return on investment in condominiums over the past five years, the survey found that when it came to buying a condominium in 2013 and renting it out, an investor would get a 6.1% return per annum. Ekamai retained the highest yield at 7.7%, followed by Phahon Yothin (7.2%), Thong Lor (6.6%) and Langsuan as well as Phaya Thai (5.6%), respectively.
Investing in condominiums not only gives investors an annual return from renting, but also generates capital gains from sales, as the prices regularly climb. The return on investment for the overall luxury market has been relatively high over the past five years. Thong Lor gives the highest total return on investment at 66% from rent and sales, followed by Ekamai (61%) and Rachada-Rama IX (58%). The average return on investment has been 50% over the last five years.
Although condominium prices have continued to increase, the location that gives the highest return per year for condominium investment is Thon Buri at 5.4%, followed by Ekamai (5.2%) and Phahon Yothin (4.9%).
Trend
The overall condominium price is forecast to increase 8-10% per year over the next three years. Condominium prices in the city center are projected to rise 12-15%. For areas surrounding inner Bangkok, the annual yield will be higher in the short term, while investing in a condominium in inner Bangkok itself may provide higher capital gain from sales.
Therefore, the total return on investment from condominiums both in inner Bangkok and surrounding areas will more or less be the same.
The key factors that buyers should consider before purchasing a condominium are good management and building maintenance.
source: https://property.bangkokpost.com/news/1471721/condo-prices-surge-40-in-thong-lor
by kevinyeo | May 25, 2018 | News
A TOP government think tank has raised its forecast for economic growth to as much as much as 4.7 percent for this year after the report card for the first quarter came within a whisker of that mark.
The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) said it now expects 2018 expansion in the range of 4.2 to 4.7 percent – up from an earlier projection of 3.6 to 4.6 percent – after the economy grew at the fastest pace in 20 years for the three months of the year.
NESDB deputy secretary-general Wichayayuth Boonchit said gross domestic product (GDP) rose 4.8 percent year on year for the quarter, driven by an acceleration in spending by the public and private sectors.
Thailand had suffered GDP contraction of 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014, the worst performance for a quarter for the preceding five years.
For opening quarter of 2018, total investment edged up 3.4 percent from the year-earlier period. Public investment increased 4 percent.
Exports expanded 9.9 percent, while tourism-based income jumped 16.8 percent.
With the NESDB’s revised GDP growth forecast of 4.2 to 4.7 percent, the median estimate is 4.5 percent.
The health of the global economy and robust product prices have been cited as factors behind the strong growth performance.
The trend of rising exports is expected to firm up and the nation’s stronger economic base is likely to spur industrial expansion – aided by expenditure flows from the government.
The NESDB expects exports to grow 8.9 percent for 2018, with public spending likely to rise 3 percent and private investment in the order of 3.9 percent. Private consumption is estimated to increase 3.7 per cent. Average headline inflation is projected in a range of 0.7 to 1.7 percent.
Thailand’s current account is forecast to enjoy a surplus that amounts to 8.4 percent of the nation’s GDP.
However, risks to growth loom in the form of increased prices for certain products and crude oil, along with expected rises in interest rates, amid global economic and financial uncertainties
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said he drew encouragement from the 4.8 percent GDP marking the fastest growth in five years.
Broad indicators rising
The government had spent most of the past five years driving forward the economy, he said.
All economic indicators, including private investment, exports, and tourism receipts, had improved, he said, adding the prolonged pressures in the agricultural sector had eased.
Somkid said that the strong GDP expansion was likely to raise the confidence of the private sector, increasing the prospects of greater corporate income.
If the scale of investment through public-private partnership (PPP) plans proceeds as planned, businesses in a range of activities will be boosted, with infrastructure and property projects to follow, he said.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the PPP committee chaired by Somkid, yesterday resolved to accelerate the pipeline of such projects. Three big projects are expected this year with an investment of about Bt446.87 billion, according to Prapas Kong-Ied, director-general of State Enterprise Policy Office.
They are the Bt80.6-billion Nakhon Pathom-Cha-am intercity motorway, the Bt128.23 billion Tao Poon-Kanchanaphisek Ring Road mass rapid transit system, and the Purple Line’s Bt238.04-billion eastern and western section MRT project.
The Siam Commercial Bank Economic Intelligence Centre forecasts the economy will grow more than 4 percent this year, citing the 4.8 percent expansion achieved for the first quarter.
The center’s confidence is based on encouraging signs across all sectors of the economy, as well as a reduction in household debt. These factors will boost consumer spending throughout the rest of the year, it said.
The Bank of Thailand’s senior director for the economy and policy department, Don Nakornthab, said yesterday that the economic expansion for the year’s first three months had exceeded the central bank’s expectations.
Don also highlighted the contributions from investment by the private and state sectors, as well as increased domestic consumption. He said the Bank of Thailand would announce next month a fresh estimate of economic expansion for 2018.
However, Don cautioned that the economy faced a range of risks – both internal and external. The latter included uncertainties over global trade policies and rising oil prices. On the home front is the issue of how well domestic consumption will hold up.
source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30345950
by kevinyeo | May 24, 2018 | News
Neighborhoods along mass-transit lines that offer easy access to the central business district of Bangkok have long been a priority for property developers, especially those specializing in condominiums. Along the BTS, the area north of Victory Monument offers a rich variety of residential neighborhoods, government and business offices, schools and other facilities. One area that stands out is around the Ari BTS station.
A condo building boom in the Ari area prior to 2014 has left little land available to develop, although some projects are in the pipeline for completion this year. The neighborhood is now home to a total of 4,407 condo units, 82% of which were launched before 2014.
With land prices topping 1 million baht per square wah along main roads and at least 400,000 baht along smaller sois, it is becoming very expensive to develop new condominiums in the area. As well, planning regulations limit height and density in narrower sois, making building uneconomical.
Given the limited number of new condo launches in recent years, take-up rates have been very high as the neighborhood remains desirable, leading to the good potential for second-hand sales. The average selling price of older units in the area was around 130,000 baht per square meter and has been rising 7-8% per year. But the average selling price in buildings launched after 2015 is 185,000 baht per sqm. The best-located buildings along Phahon Yothin Road close to the Ari station can fetch prices almost twice as high as those in smaller sois farther from the main road.
There has been some backlash in recent years against further development around Ari, given how densely populated it has become. Complaints about noise, pollution and other problems from big new big residential projects have led to tougher enforcement of planning restrictions.
That leaves the area along Phahon Yothin Road itself, but here land prices are becoming an issue. But developers have launched some new condo projects priced at 220,000 baht per sqm or more and still achieved high sales, suggesting buyers are willing to pay a premium.
source: https://property.bangkokpost.com/news/1471801/ari-bts-becomes-a-hot-spot
by kevinyeo | May 22, 2018 | News
Bangkok’s first mass transit line, the Bangkok Mass Transit System or BTS, was completed in 1999 and represented the start of a change in the way that Bangkok’s residents got around the downtown areas of Bangkok.
The original mass transit light rail train in Bangkok was developed by the BTS Group to run the above ground train along Sukhumvit Road. Not too long after in 2004, an underground subway system was constructed, which was developed and run by another company called Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA).
Traditionally, these two trains have been considered separated with the BTS being “the sky train” and the MRT being “the subway”; however massive expansion of both systems have been underway for the past few years and soon the MRT will have both above and below ground lines. By 2025, Bangkok will have more mass transit lines than London if there are no major delays, which is quite impressive considering that it took London almost a century to build up its train network to what it is today. Thailand will have done so in around a third of the time.
Currently, Bangkok has 110 kilometers of mass transit light rail lines encompassing 78 stations in Bangkok. Another 193.2 kilometers is currently under construction which encompasses 126 stations due to be complete by 2020. A planned 147.1 kilometers with 70 stations are in the plan for completion between 2021 and 2025. From 2013 to 2017, the BTS green line had the highest ridership of 744,499 passengers per weekday followed by the MRT blue line at around 349,000 passengers per weekday.
The MRT purple line, linking Tao Poon to Khlong Bang Phai, was recently opened in 2016 to underwhelming ridership numbers. This was due in large part to a lack of connection between the blue line end station of Bang Sue and the purple line starting station of Tao Poon. Last year, they fixed that issue connecting these two stations together and ridership jumped from around 33,130 riders per weekday to 48,992 riders, which is still not as high as they had hoped. Another train system that should be mentioned is the Airport Rail Link (ARL) which can be accessed from around Phaya Thai BTS Station and connects to Suvarnabhumi Airport. This system has been relatively underused since its completion in 2010 carrying only around 67,631 passengers per weekday, most of which are commuters rather than airline passengers going to and from the city to the airport area stations.
The expansion plans for the light rail system in Bangkok and surrounding areas is quite extensive but the blue line is one that is worth highlighting.
As mentioned above, the blue line is part of the MRT system that currently runs from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue; however, the expansion of this line will create the first full circle route which should create a much more seamless riding experience for passengers resulting in higher ridership than the current blue line.
The blue line is going to extend across the river to Thonburi side out to Bang Khae but also loop north to connect with Tao Poon station with an interchange at Tha Phra. This loop should lead to a significant increase in ridership as the route takes riders through many important locations such as China Town, Hua Lamphong, Lumpini, Sukhumvit, Rama 9, Ratchada, Lat Phrao, Chatuchak and then over across the Chao Phraya River into Thonburi. The Thonburi link is significant as current road routes are often very congested, especially at peak hours. The train will provide a new option that can get travelers to many key areas of Bangkok where they can then connect to other routes or walk to their destinations.
This could lead to a revitalization of the old Chinatown area, especially as a tourist destination.
Apart from this key route, the BTS and MRT line extensions when completed and combined will allow riders of the rail transport system to connect to virtually all the primary downtown and midtown areas of Bangkok. This improvement should also encourage tourists to venture out further from downtown Bangkok since tourists must rely on public transportation. Having a fixed rail route will give them more confidence to explore further out of Bangkok Central Business District (CBD) without the fear of getting lost or stuck. Furthermore, these new routes, especially locations along the blue line loop should make for good opportunities for developers of residential, retail, office, and hotel projects as access to these properties will be superior thanks to extensive connections to the blue line.
Ultimately implementation will be a large driving factor that will affect ridership.
This includes efficiency of payment methods such as the “spider card” that’s been proposed which allows one card to be used on all public transport systems as opposed to the mutually exclusive systems currently used. Safety in terms of security and equipment maintenance and timeliness of the trains will also affect rider trust and usage.
We still have seven years of construction to go just to complete the current planned network, but it is a positive sign to see progress being made on these construction plans which would make Thailand’s light rail system one of the most advanced and comprehensive in the region.
Noted: Writer by Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, Managing Director of CBRE Thailand
source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Real_Estate/30346016
by kevinyeo | May 21, 2018 | News
In 2010, Thailand relocated 29 administrative and judicial departments to the Chaeng Watthana Government Complex, and property prices in Chaeng Wattana have risen.
In the past few years, chaeng watthana road has witnessed the opening of Central Chaeng Wattana Mall, Index Living Mall, Big C, Tesco Lotus, and Makro Hypermarket. The resident population has been rising year by year; at the beginning of this year, the Thai government announced that it was connecting the government’s administrative center to the pink line in the territory of Minh Buri. Construction to commence this year. Wattana Road will welcome an unprecedented golden period of development.
Located in the north of Bangkok, Chaeng Watthana Road is 8 kilometers long and is adjacent to Don Muang Airport on the west. It is adjacent to the Chao Phraya River to the east with three expressways running through it. The government spent 20 billion baht in 2005 to build a 929,800 square meter administrative center here. Five years later, tens of thousands of civil servants who work here have driven the demand in the local housing market and created many business opportunities. Many shopping malls, hypermarkets, snack bars and massage shops have opened one after another to form a community with good living amenities.
Real estate analysts pointed out that Chaeng Watthana Road is close to the administrative center of the government and is also close to the Don Muang Airport and Impact venue center; Don Muang Airport has direct flights to major cities in China and is the gateway for many Chinese tourists to enter and leave the country.
“The surge in Chinese tourists in the past three years has resulted in a higher occupancy rate for hotels in the Chaeng Watthana area. The owners of the apartments that make the apartments into Air BNB rooms have benefited greatly.”
Real estate analysts believe that the MRT pink line, which starts at the Nonthaburi Civic Center and ends at Min Buri via Watthana Road, is about to start construction and is expected to stimulate housing prices and land prices along the route.
The center of MRT pink line is at Si Rat Station and Muang Thong Thani Station on Chaeng Watthana Road; Si Rat Station is next to Makro Shopping Mall. Within 2 km radius, there are Central Shopping Center, Index Living Mall, Tesco Lotus and Big C Shopping Mall. This is largely considered as the central area of Chaeng Watthana.
The Noble NUE Chaeng Wattana project was promoted by developer Noble last month. It was 0 meters away from the Si Rat MRT station and was next to the Makro shopping mall. The response from the Thai buyers was overwhelming.
“This shows that the Thai people are very confident in positive Wattana, and in the potential sharp rise in property prices after the opening of the MRT.”
Located at the upcoming Sirat MRT station, there are 2 shopping malls and 3 hypermarkets within a radius of 2 kilometers.
For more information on the launch of Noble NUE Cheang Wattana, visit the official developer sales website.
source: www.udnbkk.com
