In the first quarter of 2024, foreign buyers took the lead in the condominium market, with new projects primarily targeting major tourist destinations, resulting in a total investment of over 56.6 billion baht.
Phattarachai Taweewong, Director of the Research Department at property consultancy Colliers Thailand, noted this quarter as the first instance where more condo projects were launched in key tourist areas than in Bangkok.
“We have never seen such a large volume of new condo supply outside Bangkok before,” he commented. “The primary driver of this trend was the demand from foreign buyers, especially from China and Russia.”
Pattaya topped the list with 4,493 new units valued at 16 billion baht, a significant increase from the previous year’s 3,302 units—a 132% rise from 2022.
These launches were predominantly from large-scale projects by publicly listed developers such as AssetWise and Origin Property.
Colliers anticipates that the remaining quarters of 2024 will see new condo launches mainly from local developers.
“The substantial volume in the first quarter was driven by strong demand, both for personal use and investment,” Phattarachai explained. “Some Chinese and Russian investors even purchased entire blocks of new projects to lease them to their compatriots.”
By the end of 2024, Colliers expects new condo launches in Pattaya to reach 7,000 units.
However, Phattarachai cautioned that a sustainable market volume should be between 3,000 and 5,000 units annually. “Exceeding this range could lead to an oversupply, similar to the 2013-14 period when over 10,000 units were launched annually, resulting in years to absorb the excess.”
The oversupply from that period had significant repercussions, with 27 projects, comprising about 9,000 units, halting sales activities until now. Colliers is monitoring whether these projects will return to the market.
Following Pattaya, Phuket saw the second highest number of new condo units, with 3,338 units from 12 projects valued at 25 billion baht.
This follows a record high of 8,743 units launched last year, a more than sixfold increase from 1,419 units in 2022, and surpassing the previous peak of 6,429 units in 2012.
Phuket is projected to launch 8,500 new condo units by the end of 2024.
“Before the pandemic, condos priced at 120,000 baht or more per square meter were rare in Phuket. Now, prices typically range between 150,000-180,000 baht per square meter,” Phattarachai observed.
In Bangkok, 3,288 new condos were launched in the first quarter of 2024, a 33% decrease from the same period last year, marking the lowest figure in 15 years.
“The Bangkok condo market has slowed since the third quarter of 2023, with developers adopting a conservative approach,” said Supasit Vitooraporn, a property analyst at Colliers’ advisory services department.
Supasit highlighted that a key issue is the high mortgage rejection rate, particularly in the lower-priced segments of 3 million baht or less, which saw a 70% rejection rate.
Source: Bangkok Post
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